h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Oh, I see. I need to refresh my Geography.

If I may ask, where is the border of N. and S. America?

The country of Panama is in the continent of North America. Colombia is in South America. So the border is there where the narrow bit joins onto the rounded bit.

The term Central America normally means all those small countries south of the United States which are technically part of North America but don't speak English.

The Mayan pyramids are quite a different design from the Egptian ones. They are clay hills faces in stone. They also serve a different purpose, as they were to raise an altar up above the ground. The Egyptian pyramids were probably all built as tombs although some people dispute this.

I believe that Mexico is often considered part of North American, and lies between the United States and those small countries mentioned by Gnomon, if memory serves.

Archaeologists tend to talk about Meso-America, which includes everything from Mexico down to Peru, where all the ancient civilisations lived.

The Meso-Americans knew about the wheel, because they've discovered children's toys with wheels on them, but didn't consider it very much use because of all the mountains. (Perhaps they just couldn't decide what colour to paint it).

GolgafIncans?

Thanks for helping clear that up for me.

I think my error is two-fold; forgetting that there are more countries south of Mexico in North America, and not knowing the geographical locations of the civilizations in question.

The Egyptian pyramids were tombs. The Central American pyramids were altars for ritual sacrifice. China also has pyramids, which seem to have been tombs, although it's not clear - not much is known about them.