How did Mayans build the pyramids?

The builders of these spectacular structures used various materials, such as stone blocks held together with lime mortar. Some pyramids were covered with plaster and painted. The Maya positioned these pyramids to note essential points in the calendar, such as the solstice and equinox.



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“The Maya did not use the wheel nor draft animals, so they transported the building materials using person-power from the quarries to the building site,” Tulane Professor of Linguistics and Anthropology Judith Maxwell said of the Maya method for transporting heavy materials. Large building blocks were rolled on logs.

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The sacrificial pyramids' steps were used as a mean to “finish off” the sacrificed bodies by throwing them from the top of the stair to the bottom of the pyramid. The steepness in that case insured that the body would indeed roll all the way down.

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If you broke a law you appeared in court where the local leaders or nobles served as judge. In some cases the king would serve as judge. At the trial the judge would review evidence and listen to witnesses. If the person was found guilty, the punishment was carried out immediately.

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Mesoamerican peoples built pyramids from around 1000 B.C. up until the time of the Spanish conquest in the early 16th century. (Egyptian pyramids are much older than American ones; the earliest Egyptian pyramid, the Pyramid of Djoser, was built in the 27 century BC).

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Archeologists say there are a variety of factors at play, including soaring population growth, climate change and political strife. “The overwhelming information was that there was climate instability,” says Charles Golden, an anthropology professor at Brandeis University.

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The term “Maya,” while describing the Maya people as a larger cultural unit, also refers to the Mayan language family. The Maya don't actually speak Mayan. Rather, they speak Tsotsil, Mam, K'iche' or any of the various languages in the Mayan language family.

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Sistema Ox Bel Ha (270.2 km), Sistema Nohoch Nah Chich (67 km), and Sistema Dos Ojos (82.47 km) are the world's three longest operating underwater cave systems in the Riviera Maya. As they were said to represent entrances into the underworld (known as Xibalba), cenotes were once the holy places of the Mayans.

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