Notes Jason, Cole and Amir

Pyramids were built by workers who lived in villages by the pyramid build site. not the slaves or foreginers

these villages had bakers, brewers, garneries, houses, even health care facilities

some people were official employees of the pharaoh some were women

many workers too a lot of pride in their work

at giza about 20 to 30 thousand people worked on the pyramids over 80 years

egyptians believed when pharoahs died they became king od the dead

the new pharaoh became king of the sun and the heavens

people believed that people had to take care of the pharoajs dead body because a part of their spirit remained or disasyter would befall egypt

people would give the pharoah everything they need for their afterlife liek food, dolls, gold furniture

pharoahs didnt only get pyramids sometimes they only had a tomb but it was enourmos

at first huge tombs were built with a mound of dirt over it

these inspired pyramids

Some Pyramids are

step pyramid of djoser

maidum pyramid

Bent Pyramid

Red Pyramid

Great Pyramid ( the largest)

Pyramid of Phafre

Pyramid of Menkaure

Pyramid of pepi II

The tombs built before pyramids were called mastabas

Egyptians believed Pharoahs were gods so they built the pyramids as tombs for them,

he first pyramid was the step pyramid at saqquara built for king zoser in 2750 BC

the pyramids were constructed out of limestone blocks and desert clay

the pyramids were meant to mimic the kings palace one main burial room and other small rooms surrounding it containing thingss like jewerly

most people say the pyramids were built in 3200 BC

Built during the Old and Middle King periods

King Khufu began building pyramoids

And the links are

http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/e/egyptian_pyramids.htm

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pyramid/explore/

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/egypt/architecture/pyramids.htm

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pyramids/pyramids.html

Pyramid Construction Theories

No one is really completely sure of how not just Egyptian pyramids were constructed but other civilizations like the Myans. One of the most commonly used theories used for the past few years has just been proven wrong which was the theory of hundreds of thousands of slaves worked everyday for 20 years until the pyramids were finished. But no matter how much man power you had you couldn't lift 2.5 ton stone blocks because they're wouldn't be any way to get fingers or anything under them to lift it and even if they could the slaves would have to be trained to walk step by step and in the same direction in a synchronized manner which would take forever.

The next most popular theory is the External Ramp and Crane Theory. This theory has been deemed wrong because the ramp would have to be no more than an 8 percent slope for it to be possible to transport the blocks. At an 8 percent slope the ramp would have to be 1 mile long to reach the top of the pyramid. This would prolong the amount of time it took to build the pyramid because you would have to make an enormous amount of calculations and then build the ramp. And there is no evidence what so ever of a structure so large. The Egyptian cranes were made out of lumber which was imported because they didn't live near many forests. The idea of exporting so much lumber is ridiculous and would also prolong the time of construction for the pyramids because it would take years for the lumber to get there and for the cranes to be built. And the idea of having multiple cranes big enough to lift 2.5 ton stone blocks on different levels of the pyramid is absurd.

The most recent and widely accepted theory is the Internal Ramp theory. This theory suggests that Egyptians had a ramp that spiraled upward and is still present in the pyramids themselves.
http://www.archaeology.org/0705/etc/thumbnails/pyramid4.gif

Another controversial theory is that Aliens helped build there pyramids. Most if not all of the civilizations that had pyramids spoke of  "Those that came from the sky" and I'm sure they weren't talking about birds. Some say that they were Aliens others say that they were the gods that they worshiped. who really knows? These theories interest me and I would like to hear what you guys think maybe we can have a class discussion or something?

Pyramid Facts

Pyramids have trap doors to keep robbers out
It usually took over 100,000 people to build pyramids
The average amount of time to build a pyramid was 20 years
Limestone was the type of stone that was usually used to build pyramids

Food Surplus

After awhile people started discovering new thing that could be done to help and benefit their people. But no one is willing to work for free. Wheat, rice and barley were available to farmers and were the best domestic food back then. They were very nutritious and could be stored for long periods of time. After animals were domesticated they were attached to plows so that they could cover more land than humans could alone thus enabling farmers to plant more food.

This created a surplus of food, you know extra. This extra food was used to pay the specialized workers. Specialized workers could do things like make plaster for insulation purposes for homes. Metal workers could melt ore's and make metal weapons for defense or hunting and make tools for working. Farmers usually had specialized workers make personal granaries for their farmer so that they could pay other specialized workers for their services.

Another positive that comes from having a food surplus is that you don't have to worry about what you are going to eat that day and you don't have to worry about feeding your family. This gives you days off to relax and I don't really know what people did 13,000 years ago to relax on a day off but I know they might have tried to learn a new skill.

2/3/11

As time advanced people were becoming specialized workers or laborers. Instead of just being hunter and getting food people were learning how to plant and build granaries and make weapons. Over time domestic animals became important to life, certain animals could produce milk, fur for clothing, meat and feces for fertilizer. Goat, sheep, pigs and cows were the first animals to be domesticated by humans. Each animal had something special to offer, oxen and horses were used to plow fields which increased the amount of food you could plant, grow, store and produce. In new guinea the only muscle power were from humans. They didn't have big strong animals like oxen or horses to pull plows. The best animals to farm are large land eating animals that can reproduce within the first few years of life and weigh over 100lbs. New Guinea just had bad geographic luck that’s all, I'm 100% sure and I'm sure experts agree too that New Guineans are perfectly capable of accomplishing the things that others have if the y had the tools.

first class and second class

Jared Diamond is a professor at UCL and a bird watcher. his bird watching took him to new guinea where he met a man that asked him "why you white men have so much cargo and we have so little?" This question drove Jared to find an answer. Jared said that its absurd to think that one race is more dominant than the other, Jared had to think back to prehistoric times because that is when there wasn't any inequality. Jared said that Africans are smart people because they can survive a life time in conditions that most men couldn't survive a day in. The first farmers were in the Middle East.  A 11,500 year old village was found in the middle east where possibly the first granary was built. All this is evidence that all races have accomplished something spectacular and that at one time in life all races were equal and that the races of todays society that are considered "less dominant" were once dominant. I think what the experts are trying to say is that each race is skilled or experts in different things and we can teach one another what we because that would benefit everyone.