Pyramidiots

This past Thursday was the first time I heard of the term, “pyramidiots”. This term is used to describe the number of outrageous theories revolving around the pyramid and how it came to be. As mentioned in class, there are a number of theorists and many different stories- however, the truth is that the pyramid was built by both skilled and unskilled laborers from Egypt, and this is proven from the discovery of Heit El Ghurab.

Of the many theories, the one that struck out most to me was Erich Von Daniken. Who would’ve thought that the “father of modern belief in aliens” had anything to say about or relating to the Pyramids of Egypt? Though I certainly do not agree with Daniken’s idea of alien existence, his theory that Egyptians couldn’t have built the pyramids actually makes sense. For instance, how were the laborers able to move 2000 lb stone blocks into caves? What tools were used by Egyptians to sculpt such intricate carvings and create the foundation structure of the pyramids? Daniken also argued that no evidence had been found of houses for laborers to live in- which we know, is untrue.

Despite his strange belief in aliens, I think it was an interesting tie to the pyramids. Before the discovery of Heit El Ghurab, I would’ve thought of something bizarre too. If the discovery of Heit  El Ghurab never happened and I were to develop my own theory of how the pyramids were constructed, my assumption would’ve been that it was built by captured war prisoners, slaves, or peasants who owed debt. Though it is a simple theory, I think it’s consistent with the era of the pyramids- back when it was built, the person lived a much simpler life.

Addressing these theorists as pyramidiots sounds derogatory, mostly because the term “idiot” is hidden within the full word. Though many stories came about from pyramid enthusiasts, I think we should respect their theories and the full reasoning behind it. Considering that he was the father of modern belief in aliens, Daniken must’ve had a large following and many saw his ideas as valid. At the time that his theory was introduced to the public, there was nothing else to counteract or prove him wrong. At one point or another, all theories of any subject were once accepted as valid.

One thought on “Pyramidiots

  1. I found the theories involving aliens quite interesting and while I had heard of people believing in such things before I had never heard of this man, Erich Von Daniken and his writings. I found it surprising that a man would dedicate this much time, and effort into his theories involving aliens but like you said at the time there was nothing to counteract his thoughts.

    I also found it interesting how few people actually know who built the pyramids. Many people I have talked to believe that it was slaves of the Egyptian pharaohs who built the pyramids. I will admit that I was one of these people who thought this when we first learned of the pyramids back in grade school. But that is because we were taught that it was slaves who carved the stones and dragged them around and stacked them. And we were also taught that they were treated horribly. But in reality, like you discussed in your post it was actually a bunch of skilled laborers who built them and they were actually treated quite well with sufficient living quarters and food. And as we talked about in class there were also seasonal workers who could work in the off-season of farming for example as a way to pay their taxes to the government. Ultimately it is a lack of information or a lack thereof that causes people to believe in these theories like slaves and aliens. But now that we know the truth about who built the pyramids it is interesting to see how people’s thoughts changed from their previous thoughts.

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