There’s a lot of hype about pyramids, but that’s just nonsense. Pyramids are nothing special at all. In fact, they’re the dullest kind of monument one can think of, just glorified artificial pile-ups of mud (Mesopotamia) or stones (Egypt). The original definition of Big Dumb Object.
In a nutshell, a pyramid is the easiest way to make something big without engineering capabilities. You just have to pile up things and give them a general shape. The base is a square because polygons were the first geometric shapes mankind mastered (circles are a bit harder to build) and four sides provide adequate stability (better than a triangle) without becoming too complicated (less than pentagon). The walls are inclined because the ancient peoples lacked engineering prowess to build straight-up walls. Inclined walls just support each other. In essence, a pyramid is a building that has no supports, but rather relies on the superficial tension of the material they were built of. Since stones can take more pressure, Egyptian pyramids could become much bigger than Mesopotamian pyramids, which were made of dried mud.
The walls supporting each other by inclination and pressure explain why there is so little useful space inside a pyramid! Since the pressure of the weight of the stones is so big, the walls need to be really thick, leaving only a small amount of space to be used inside.
The reason why pyramids appeared in different civilisations is simply that the problem of “making something big to impress the people” can only result in a pyramidal shape if you use the technology those peoples had. And they had to learn by trial and error. In Egypt there are many examples of “failed pyramids” or pyramids abandoned during different stages of constructions, or pyramids belonging to previous stepped models. It is possible to reconstruct the original line of reasoning by which the Egyptians eventually produced a BDO like the Cheops pyramid. In fact, all technology the Egyptians developed to cut, transport and pile stones up has been discovered and all of it is quite simple: sand saw, sand bed with palm wood rolls and primitive cranes.
Claiming that the pyramids required “ancient astronaut” help is hilarious in many ways:
1. It implies that a space-faring civilisation came to Earth to teach primitive humans how to pile up stones according to the cardinal directions (which anyone who’s not blind can guess correctly by following the sun and the stars across the sky).
2. It implies that ancient peoples (like the Egyptians) were so dumb that they couldn’t even pile up stones.
3. Suggests that the pyramids are extraordinary feats of engineering, when they are, in fact, more notable for the sheer amount of work required to build them.
The only thing impressive about pyramids is that they are big and required a lot of work to be built. But that’s all.
https://www.quora.com/Is-it-true-we-couldnt-build-the-pyramids-today
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