- Some Brazilian pyramids date back over 5,000 years ago, which means they predate their Egyptian counterparts by several hundred years.
- Experts argue there were around one thousand pyramids in Brazil, but many were destroyed after being confused for piles of trash and natural hills.
- The Brazilian pyramids were truly massive. One structure located near the town of Jaguaruna covers a total area of 25 acres. The pyramid is once believed to have stood more than 167ft high.
Thousands of years ago, for reasons we are not entirely sure, pyramids were built throughout the world. The most famous pyramids are perhaps those located at the Giza plateau in present-day Egypt. These pyramids are thought to date back from around 2,500 BC, built during the Fourth Dynasty of ancient Egypt. However, the Giza pyramids are not the oldest in Egypt, and are far from being the oldest in the world, despite popular belief.
The history of ancient Egypt dates back thousands of years, but the Egyptians didn’t build pyramids throughout their entire history. In fact, the largest Egyptian pyramids were built over the course of only a few generations, starting with the Fourth Dynasty rule of King Sneferu, ending with the rule of Khafre.
We can trace back the benign of Egyptian pyramids to around 4,700 BC when King Djoser ruled over Egypt. It was during the Third Dynasty when he commissioned the construction of a monument never-before-seen in the history of Egypt. He chose his young Vizier and architect Imhotep to plan, design and built the monument. Imhotep didn’t disappoint and he would eventually complete what is now considered the earliest colossal stone building in Egypt and the earliest large-scale cut-stone construction, although the South American pyramids at Caral are contemporary.
However, hundreds of years before Imhotep even existed, an ancient civilization in what is now Brazil created what is now recognized as the first example of pyramids in the world.
The oldest pyramids on Earth
Located on the Atlantic Coast of southern Brazil, the Pyramids of Brazil are, just like their counterparts in Mexico and Egypt, wonders of the ancient world. Although their purpose wins shrouded in mystery, the Brazilian pyramids were probably built for religious purposes or were directly connected to early forms of religion and worship of the gods.
Although the function of the pyramids of Brazil, and their counterparts in Peru, Mexico, and even Egypt were perhaps similar, their consumption techniques are vastly different. Although there are plenty of pyramids that look very similar in terms of design, scholars believe that pyramids were developed independently in every continent and that pyramid-building civilizations such as the Egyptians, the Chinese and the cultures in South America were never in direct contact.
But the pyramids of brazil are unique: they date back to around 3,000 BC, which means they predate, not only the Egyptian pyramids but examples of similar structures in Peru and Mexico by hundreds of years. Furthermore, unlike the stone pyramids of Egypt and Central America, the Brazilian pyramids were built using very different techniques.
Although there are no written records that mention the Brazilian pyramids, the structures were most likely build over the course of several generations, which means that each pyramid underwent various construction phases until it was complete. Furthermore, unlike the Egyptian pyramids which were built out of massive blocks of stone, the Brazilian pyramids were built out of lesser material and mainly out of seashells.
By no means does this mean that the Pyramids of Brazil were lesser structures. However, given their particular construction, many of the ancient structures remained hidden from experts, and many of them were mistaken for being no more than rubbles of trash. In fact, this confusion caused the destruction of many Brazilian pyramids.
Nonetheless, archeological research several decades ago demonstrated that these massive piles of rubbish were in fact square structures of a pyramidal shape. Researchers have revealed that the Brazilian pyramids were large structures, some of which were 160ft high, covering a base of more than 37 acres. In terms of volume, the Brazilian pyramids were much larger than some examples of Egyptian pyramids.
To date, only a few Brazilian pyramids remain standing, but experts suggest that there were more than one thousand pyramids in Brazil, some of which date back more than 5,000 years ago. Today, regrettably, no more than ten percent of pyramids remain in various states of reservations. Many of these ancient structures were used several decades ago as construction material for roads, and buildings in areas that were being developed at the time.
Nonetheless, some of the largest examples of Brazilian pyramids remain standing to date. Located near the town of Jaguaruna, this Brazilian pyramids is one of the most massive pyramids covering 25 acres and rising–currently–to a height of 100 ft. Experts estimate that at its peak, the pyramid may have stood more than 165 ft high.
Elements of some Brazilian pyramids resemble those that have been found on some Central American pyramids. Archaeologists have found traces of structures that were built on top of the pyramids resembling altars or miniature rooms. The Brazilian pyramids, however, are between 3000 and 2000 years older than some pyramids in Central America. It remains unlikely, although entirely possible, that cultures across America were in contact more than 3,000 years ago.
In addition to the fact that the Brazilian pyramids are the oldest found to date, their existence proves that more than 5,000 years ago, cultures in Brazil were far more developed than what we have initially thought. The existence of vast pyramids in Brazil offers conclusive evidence that there were very sophisticated cultures inhabiting present-day Brazil more than 5,000 years ago. These ancient civilizations were capable of constructing truly gigantic monuments.
The existence of the Brazilian pyramids also suggests that their builders were most likely a very organized society governed by stable rulers who had control over natural and human resources more than 5,000 years ago.
What culture built the pyramids of Brazil remains a historical enigma.