Step Pyramid Research Paper

1.The Step Pyramid is known as the Pyramid of Djoser and was built around 2667–2648 BC. It is located at Saqquara necropolis, Egypt.El Castillo aka the Temple of Kululcan is located at the center of the archaeological site of Yucatan, which is in Mexico. It was built around 9th–12th century.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_of_Djoser
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Castillo,_Chichen_Itza

2. The Step Pyramid has a rough exterior, it is eroded.The perimeter of its levels decrease with each ascending level.The Step Pyramid has a dull appearance with little to no other colors present. It has many of stones out of place, which makes it very flawed in many of its areas in each level. The Temple of Kululcan is much more preserved and sharper in appearance with no apparent damages to its integrity and has two color present through much of design. Much of the lower level have dashes of white and grey while the very top is a mostly solid white with some grey towards the roof.

3. The Step Pyramid has very eroded and lacks much luster.

It is a faded brown structure which gives it a worn-down appearance, in addition to that it is missing many of its stones further reducing its appeal. The Temple of Kululcan is colored with grey and white and applies more shapes towards its design with each level. Each level has rectangular shapes embedded into its design.Lastly, the Temple of Kululcan has stairs which are on the outside, while the Step Pyramid does not.

4.Both the Step Pyramid and the Temple of Kululcan are pyramids of sorts, The Temple of Kululcan and the Step Pyramid also share the design of having each different level pop out and pronounced. As the Temple of Kululcan and the Step Pyramid have the same pronounced level design the also share the same overall style and shape when comes to their exterior.

5. The Step Pyramid uses form and line as lacks much in the departments of color and light. The form comes into play in layout where the Step Pyramid has its levels encompassing one another with the lower level containing the one above it. Line as visual element has its role in giving the Step Pyramid is alignment and giving each level its definition.

6. El Castillo has both the visual elements form and color with form giving it its most remarkable features. Color is present throughout its architecture, where grey and white are abundant in all levels except the top where white is dominant color and grey is found in fewer places.With white being predominantly at the top it further emphasis the high point of El Castillo. The form is where the Temple of Kululcan excels with each level having prominences(shapes) across its design and the stairways all leading to its high point. The forms which are present in the Temple of Kululcan are geometric with several rectangular across each level, a cubic shape at the top, and the overall design being a pyramid.

7.The purpose of the Temple of Kululcan was very much religious and was dedicated to Kululcan , the Mayan snake deity whose exact purpose is obscure where it may have possibly overseen the designation of historical figures or act as a war serpent.

The deity’s image can be observed in the corners of El Castillo. The Temple of Kululcan also is aligned with the stars during the equinoxes of Spring and Autumn, people can witness the shadows form up and give the impression the serpent descending from the temple. The Pyramid of Djoser is the burial site of Pharoah Djoser. The Pyramid of Djoser is believed to serve as a center point of a mortuary complex where the dead await in preparation for the afterlife. With the Egyptians, the afterlife played very important role in their culture and roles with the Anubis overseeing the dead. The burial site’s purpose was to ensure the Pharaoh’s afterlife would continue as it did before his

death.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Castillo,_Chichen_Itza
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_of_Djoser#Precedents
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_religion#Afterlife
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Egyptian_deities
http://www.history.com/topics/ancient-history/the-egyptian-pyramids