Step pyramid

Step pyramids – typically large and made of several layers of stone – are found in several cultures throughout history, in several locations throughout the world, with no known connections between the different civilizations that built them.

These independent adoptions of a similar design presumably emerged at least partly because step pyramids have a lower center of mass than would a structure with straight vertical sides and are thus inherently more stable.

Ziggurats were huge religious monuments built in the ancient Mesopotamian valley and western Iranian plateau, having the form of a terraced step pyramid of successively receding stories or levels.

[2] Built in receding tiers upon a rectangular, oval, or square platform, the ziggurat was a pyramidal structure.

In the First Dynasty at Saqqara, a large step pyramid like structure was found within the interior of Mastaba 3808 dating to the reign of the pharaoh Anedjib.

[9] A step pyramid exists in the archaeological site of Monte d'Accoddi, in Sardinia, dating to the 4th millennium BC: "a trapezoidal platform on an artificial mound, reached by a sloped causeway.

The remains of step pyramids can be found throughout the Mayan cities of the Yucatán, as well as in Aztec and Toltec architecture.

Often associated with mounds and other mortuary complexes across the Eastern Woodlands (concentrated in the North American Southeast), step pyramids were constructed as ceremonial centers by the Mississippian cultures (900–1500 CE), and are regarded as a facet of the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex.

The largest earthen work step pyramid of this type in North America is Monks Mound, located in present-day Cahokia, Illinois.

The archaeological site of Koh Ker in northern Cambodia contains a seven‑tiered pyramid called Prang which was probably the state temple of Jayavarman IV.

Originally on the top platform stood a huge lingam probably more than 4 m (13 ft) high and having a weight of several tons.

Concerning the seventh tier some scientists say, this was the platform of the shrine because on its sides beautiful reliefs of Garudas were made.

[13] The construction of stone pyramids is based on the native beliefs that mountains and high places are the abode for the spirit of the ancestors.

[14] The step pyramid is the basic design of 8th century Borobudur Buddhist monument in Central Java.