Compare And Contrast Two Pyramids

1. This week we are comparing and contrasting two pyramids. The first of the two pyramids is the Step Pyramid in the funerary complex of Djoser. The Step Pyramid is dated to 2630 to 2575 B.C.E. It is roughly 204 feet tall and made out limestone. The Step Pyramid is located in Saqqara Necropolis in Egypt. The second of the two pyramids is the pyramid known as El Castillo. El Castillo is dated to the 9th to 12th Century C.E. it is roughly 98 feet tall and made out of limestone. El Castillo is located in the Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico.

2. The Step Pyramid of Djoser has many unique features. You can see that it has a total of 6 parts. The base is hard to see but it has a small step before going to a much larger one. At the peak, it has a flat top. On one of the sides, there appears to be a circular entrance at the base. There are no visible paths inside or on top of the Step Pyramid. The step pyramid has eroded quite a bit and you can see damage and corrosion of the yellowish limestone all over its structure. El Castillo has 4 sets of stairs that lead to the structure on the top of the pyramid. There are …show more content…
The Step Pyramid of Djoser was made to hold the body of the Pharoah Djoser. This building has a significant impact on the culture of Egypt at the time because it was the tallest building at 204 feet. This was the tallest building of this era. The main purpose of the Step Pyramid was to honor the Pharaoh of that time period. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pyramids/djoser.html The Pyramid El Castillo or “The Castle” was designed to hold mythology of the Mayan people and to portray and capture astronomical features and movements. A unique part of El Castillo is that during the equinoxes every year, for about a week, it appears that there is a massive serpent flowing down the stairs. This fed into the culture of the Mayan people that their Gods were manifesting around them.