Why were the Mayan pyramids built so tall?

The Maya positioned these pyramids to note essential points in the calendar, such as the solstice and equinox. The pyramids also functioned as temples; only priests were allowed to climb to the top of the stairs, where they performed religious rituals, including sacrifices.



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Mayan pyramids were built for sacrificial rituals or for sacred ceremonies. The pyramids built for sacrifices were flat on top, while the sacred pyramids were too steep to climb. The pyramids were stepped structures built by using flat platforms with each level being slightly smaller than the previous level.

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While Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza is by far the most talked-about pyramid in the world, it isn't the biggest by a long shot. That title goes to the Great Pyramid of Cholula - an ancient Aztec temple in Puebla, Mexico with a base four times larger than Giza's, and nearly twice the volume.

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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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Many people have said that the pyramids would last 1 million years or even until the world ended, but I'd say around 10,000 to 100,000 years based on current observations.

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According to noted archeologists Mark Lehner and Zahi Hawass, the pyramids were not built by slaves; Hawass's archeological discoveries in the 1990s in Cairo show the workers were paid laborers, rather than slaves. Rather, it was farmers who built the pyramids during flooding, when they could not work their lands.

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Even though fines for trespassers who attempt to climb the Unesco heritage site can reportedly range from $1,800-9,000, the tourist was fined $412 for the transgression, a spokesperson for INAH was quoted as saying by the Mexico Daily Post.

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The ancient Mayan pyramid of Kukulkán is a Unesco heritage site, protected by law and the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH ). It is forbidden to climb it and fines range from $4000 to $8400 for trespassers, depending on the amount of damage caused.

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Although tourists were once able to freely climb the pyramids, that is now illegal. Offenders face up to three years in prison as penalty. In 2016 a teenage tourist was banned from visiting Egypt for life after posting photos and videos on social media of his illicit climb.

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Despite the towering reputation of Egypt's Great Pyramids at Giza, the Americas actually contain more pyramid structures than the rest of the planet combined. Civilizations like the Olmec, Maya, Aztec and Inca all built pyramids to house their deities, as well as to bury their kings.

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