Labor requisition by the states allowed construction of the great pyramids and other huge public buildings. ... They even lacked pulleys or other devices to hoist the huge slabs of stone that formed the pyramids. ... Many pharaohs commemorated their greatness by building huge pyramids to house themselves and their retinues after death, commanding work crews of up to 100,000 men to haul and lift the stone. The first great pyramid was built around 2600 B.C.; the largest pyramid followed about a century later, taking 20 years to complete and containing 2 million blocks of stone, each weighing 5...

• Word Count: 2162
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Egypt People Egypt's population was estimated in July 2002 at 70,818,000. ... To shelter and protect the part of a pharaoh's soul that remained in the corpse, Egyptians built massive tombs-but not always pyramids. They built mastabas before they built pyramids. ... The pyramid shape of later tombs could have come from the shape of mastabas. More likely, Egyptian pyramids were modeled on a sacred, pointed stone called the benben. ...

• Word Count: 1831
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School