The physical appearances of both the Mayan and Egyptian contrast in a myriad of ways. As stated in the Mayan Travel Guide, “ Compared to the Egyptian pyramids at Giza, Mayan pyramids are mostly smaller, but steeper and more ornate. They were, built of stone blocks held together with lime mortar… covered with plaster and painted.” Most of the Mayan pyramids had about 365 steps leading up to the entrances that are located at the very top of the buildings. The structures were built to about 75 ft in height. In contrast, the Egyptian pyramids of
Giza, as said in the article “The Pyramids of Giza,” it said, “Famous not only for their stupendous size and dramatic shape, but also for the astonishing skill with which they were built thousands of years ago.” The pyramids are made up of mostly solid stone and the four outside faces of them were covered with a layer of white limestone blocks. The blocks would have illuminated and shone when the sun hit it.
The purposes of these two structures are only somewhat similar. In the
Mayan Travel Guide, it states, “Mayan pyramids functioned as temples, whether or not they were also tombs of high ranking officials. Inside the priests performed religious rituals including sacrifices.” These pyramids were very sacred, only priests and extremely important officials were allowed to climb the steps to enter.
On the other hand, the Giza pyramids were strictly for citizens to remember the pharaohs. They also serve as permanent tombs to seal the pharaohs bodies away in a specially built chamber as shown in the Pyramid Infographic.
These ancient people that created these buildings were very intelligent. The
Mayan and Egyptians each had different cultures and