Pyramids and Ziggurats

Pyramids and ziggurats both provide archeologists with a great deal of information about the ancient cultures that constructed them. When comparing The Great Pyramids of Egypt with The Ziggurats of Mesopotamia and the Mesoamerican Pyramids, the differences between them are more apparent than the similarities that they share. The structures only appear to be similar. Both have the general form of a pyramid. Some other similarities shared by these structures can be interpreted from a religious context of those who had them erected and what role they served for the society. Among the differences are their usage, how they were decorated, their designs, and the materials used in their construction. The Egyptian pyramids were built as the final resting place for the pharaoh. It was also where the Pharaohs possessions were kept for him to enjoy in the afterlife. What has been found inside of these tremendous pyramids are precise layouts. For example, page 51 in our first book shows a diagram of the pyramid and inside each of them is a narrow shaft that extends from the deepest chamber to the outside. Coincidentally it is aligned with the North Star. The Great Pyramids are quite interesting. The stones are so tight that you cannot even put a knife in between the stones. It makes you think how could this be possible? It makes you think how did these pyramids get built? Some might say that they were moved on wooden sleds, but it is quite hard to imagine how they constructed something on this scale. While it is true that the forced labor of war prisoners was a common practice at the time, most people agree that the humongous labor force used in building the pyramids consisted of workers from throughout Egypt as it states in our book. Another interesting fact is that they are also perfectly square and they are aligned almost precisely with a compass. So really the main purposes of these pyramids were to have a resting place for their Pharaohs as they entered the