5 paragraphs, 5 sentences for a paragraph.
Mayan Pyramids 1min 17sec 2 sources
Around 3,000 years ago, a civilization called the Mayans built pyramids in southern Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Belize. In present day, the Mayan Pyramids are one of the greatest tourist attractions of Mexico and Central America.
Pyramids are monumental structures with a base and sloping sides that meet in a point at the top, usually built of stone. The Mayan version of the pyramid is truncated so that a temple or a tomb can be built on the top. Pyramids come in many shapes. Most of the time they will be pentagonal, square or triangular. The sides of a pyramid are always triangular and the top of each side joins to make the point of the pyramid. Pyramids were built by hand by piling stone after stone on top of each other.
Instead of a pointed top like most pyramids, the Mayan’s had flat plateaus on the top so be their temple. In the ancient times, they built two types of pyramids. Some of the pyramids were meant to be climb, and the others were not made for climbing. One of the types of pyramids were built for sacrificial rituals. While the other type of pyramids were built for being sacred and not meant to be touched.
A lot of the Mayan pyramids had stairs that were so step, people couldn't walk up them. They did this intentionally so that people wouldn't go into the pyramids or mess with them. The sacred pyramids would also have fake doors that would lead to nowhere, just so people couldn't get in. The pyramids were very high because the mayans wanted everyone to see them from anywhere on the ground. It gave them a sense of direction. Seeing the Pyramids from all over helped remind them that the gods were always present watching over them. During their rituals, the priests would go to the top of the pyramid and ascend the earth to the sky by means of staircases. They believed that this brought them closer to the gods.
Mayan Pyramids were only walked on by priests or people with high ranking power. Most of the time there are platforms connecting the steps somewhere near the middle of the pyramid so that the priest-king could stop and do a part of his ritual before continuing to the top. The priest would be the only one to continue till the very top of the pyramid. Some of the pyramids would make house burial chambers for high ranking officials inside of them. Inside the giant structures were small burial rooms or tombs. There were narrow corridors that led to the rooms. The rooms usually contained treasures such as jade, gold, Kuk feathers, and anything valuable that belonged to the king.
A lot of people that visit say, along with historical researchers, that when standing up against the walls of the pyramids you will hear a bird chirping. Apparently, clapping your hands one at the base of a pyramid’s staircase makes what is called a "chirped echo". The elusive quetzal, or the kuk, is the name of the bird that the pyramids echo. The bird lives in the forests of Central America. The Mayans were around these birds a lot, so somehow they managed to mock their sound. It’s feathers, along with jade, were among the most precious commodities for the Mayans.
http://traveltips.usatoday.com/mayan-pyramids-1119.html
http://www.ocasa.org/MayanPyramid.htm
http://www.mayantravelguide.com/mayan-pyramids.html
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