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

I have heard somewhere that there is/was a linkage between Egyptian pyramids and Mayan pyramids from Central America. I have also learned that Mayan Pyramids are linked to Atlantean technology of the former mythical Lost Continent/Civilization of Atlantis.

Does anyone know about this strange link between Egyptian and Mayan pyramid technology or its connection to Atlantis?

Thanks for your help,

Serge
[email protected]

Personally I think it highly unlikely: the Egyptian and Mayan pyramids don't look alike at all. Also, there are 'developmental' pyramids to be found in both Egypt and South America, whereas if there was a connection, surely the Mayan's wouldn't have to 're-invent the wheel' vis-a-vis pyramids and vice-versa. I'm not sure about this, but aren't the Egyptioan pyramids much older than their South American counterparts?

What I really want to know about is how the Egyptians got a hold of all that cocaine!!

I'd like to begin by disputing the initial statement in the original article, that "the Egyptians did not use the number pi when constructing the pyramids." Perhaps it wasn't used in the manner suggested, but it's evident in the construction of the pyramid that the builders were familiar with pi. If you take the height of the Great Pyramid (481.3949 feet) and multiply it by 2pi, you arrive at the perimeter dimension (3023.16 feet).

Oddly enough, the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan (in Mexico) can be found to have a similar height:perimeter ratio, but this time it's 4pi instead of 2pi (233.5 ft*(4*3.14)=2932.76 ft, which is approximately half an inch short of the true perimeter).

While there are step pyramids in Egypt (that look similar to the Mayan ones), they are not nearly as spectacular as those found on the Giza plateau. As we've seen with the mathematical similarities, however, there's more to the picture than what appears at first glance. As far as I know, the other pyramids in Egypt don't really fit the 'developmental' label; to my knowledge, most of them were constructed _after_ the pyramids at Giza. This, of course, seems counter-intuitive; why would there be a decline in the quality of pyramid building? (keep reading ).

Maolmuire is right when he points on that the Egyptian pyramids predate the Mesoamerican pyramids, but many have marveled at the similarities and speculated on a common source of knowledge; some authors point to Plato's Atlantis myth as something that might fit the bill. If a seafaring civilization in the middle of the Atlantic that predated both Mexican and Egyptian civilizations came to a catastrophic end, scattering refugees across the globe, it's possible that this could account for the decline in pyramid building skill in Egypt; the architectural and scientific knowledge of the 'Atlantean' refugees that originally fostered pyramid building on both sides of the Atlantic might have been forgotten over time.

On the other hand (and this relates to your cocaine, Maolmuire), it's possible that transatlantic trade occured without any seafaring civilization in the middle of the ocean; with the cocaine and tobacco moving from west to east, a transfer of information may have occured from the east to the west - architectural and mathematical information that allowed Mesoamericans that came after the Egyptians to build pyramids on the other side of the Atlantic.

There are, however, several problems with this theory. Through archaeo-astronomy and close inspection of the erosion on the Sphinx, a handful of unorthodox scholars have dated the Giza complex to 10,500 BC, a good 8,000 years before the accepted date, and certainly many thousands of years before the supposed rise of the Egyptian civilization.

In answer to this enigmatic contradiction, researchers have put forward any number of theories, which run the gamut from slightly loony to insanely ridiculous - some involve the Atlanteans or some other pre-Egyptian race, and the Noah flood myth, while some involve alien colonists from another world (perhaps Mars - some people would at this point throw in a word or two about the pyramids in the Cydonia). At this point, we have to question ourselves...how much are we willing to believe?

It always seemed to me that it was more than a coincidence that the important pyramids were built near the major isthmuses of Panama and Suez. It started me thinking about why they were built. The people who built them were highly motivated and obviously well fed. They must have been intelligent and healthy. Could an isthmus have been a thoroughfare during North/South migration that would especially have occurred as a result of the ice ages? If people were ‘compressed’ at the isthmuses, man with his propensity to exterminate those he considers inferior, would mean that only the fittest survived the conflicts. After the last ice age, the more temperate climate in Egypt especially, would have provided abundant food. These facts would permit the builders, motivated by their religion, to handle the job.
Actually, an ice age does a great job rehabilitating the whole world. After each one, all species spread north and diversify. During the ice age, humans and animals are compressed into smaller areas where only the best survive.
The ice grinds up the rocks to provide new soil. At the end of an ice age, the vast amounts of mineral laden water from the melted glaciers fertilize the oceans. Most of the water would flow south through the oceans between the Americas and Europe/Africa, starting a worldwide ocean circulation of fertilized water that promotes algae growth at the bottom of a fish food chain enhancing the whole fish population. Perhaps, the extra algae absorbs the carbon dioxide from the air, starting a cooling cycle which eventually finishes as a new ice age and the whole cycle starts again.

Just my greatly belated opinions on the similarities between the Mayan and Egypian pyramids ...

The Egyptian pyramids are ~3-4 thousand years old. They were built as deep as possible in the desert as tombs. They had smooth sides and pointed tops, with internal tunnnels.

The Mayan (and Aztec) pyramids are ~8 hundred years old. They were built in the centres of cities to act as temples. They had stepped sides and flat tops. Stairs lead up one face to a temple on the top. They were solid (with at least one exception). They were also rebuilt every 52 years.

Much of that is generalisation, of course - there is 1 stepped pyramid in Egypt. This is believed to be the oldest pyramid (indeed, the oldest planned building). And there is at least one smooth pyramid in Mexico. In fact, there are several distinct styles of pyramids among the Mayans alone. Most are significantly narrower than the Egyptian design.

Combined with the lack of any other link between the cultures (very different gods, writing systems, environments, languages, dates, etc.) I find it hard to believe there is a link. A pyramid is a fairly simple idea. As for the Panama/Suez; I think that that is coincidence too. Neither is particularly close - the Nile is a good week by camel over harsh desert from the Suez, and the Mayans were ~1000km from Panama through some of the most impenetrable jungle on Earth.

It's an interesting theory, though, and if you're still around, feel free to reply

Gif

Just my greatly belated opinions on the similarities between the Mayan and Egypian pyramids ...

The Egyptian pyramids are ~3-4 thousand years old. They were built as deep as possible in the desert as tombs. They had smooth sides and pointed tops, with internal tunnnels.

The Mayan (and Aztec) pyramids are ~8 hundred years old. They were built in the centres of cities to act as temples. They had stepped sides and flat tops. Stairs lead up one face to a temple on the top. They were solid (with at least one exception). They were also rebuilt every 52 years.

Much of that is generalisation, of course - there is 1 stepped pyramid in Egypt. This is believed to be the oldest pyramid (indeed, the oldest planned building). And there is at least one smooth pyramid in Mexico. In fact, there are several distinct styles of pyramids among the Mayans alone. Most are significantly narrower than the Egyptian design.

Combined with the lack of any other link between the cultures (very different gods, writing systems, environments, languages, dates, etc.) I find it hard to believe there is a link. A pyramid is a fairly simple idea. As for the Panama/Suez; I think that that is coincidence too. Neither is particularly close - the Nile is a good week by camel over harsh desert from the Suez, and the Mayans were ~1000km from Panama through some of the most impenetrable jungle on Earth.

It's an interesting theory, though, and if you're still around, feel free to reply

Gif

PS - nearly forgot to mention: as for the cocaine and nicotine found in Egyptian mummies - well, you have me stumped there!