Editing Pyramid (section)

==== Mesoamerica ====
{{Main article|Mesoamerican pyramids}}
[[File:Chichen Itza 3.jpg|thumb|[[El Castillo, Chichen Itza|El Castillo]] at [[Chichen Itza]]]]
Several [[Mesoamerica]]n cultures built pyramid-shaped structures. [[Mesoamerican pyramids]] were usually stepped, with temples on top, more similar to the Mesopotamian ziggurat than the Egyptian pyramid.

The largest by volume is the [[Great Pyramid of Cholula]], in the Mexican state of [[Puebla]]. Constructed from the 3rd century BC to the 9th century AD, this pyramid is the world's largest monument, and is still not fully excavated. The third largest pyramid in the world, the [[Pyramid of the Sun]], at [[Teotihuacan]], is also located in [[Mexico]]. An unusual pyramid with a circular plan survives at the site of [[Cuicuilco]], now inside [[Mexico City]] and mostly covered with lava from an eruption of the [[Xitle]] Volcano in the 1st century BC. Several circular stepped pyramids called [[Guachimontones]] survive in Teuchitlán, [[Jalisco]].

Pyramids in Mexico were often used for [[human sacrifice]]. [[Michael Harner|Harner]] stated that for the dedication of the [[Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan]] in 1487, "one source states 20,000, another 72,344, and several give 80,400" as the number of humans sacrificed.<ref>"[http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/aztecs/sacrifice.htm The Enigma of Aztec Sacrifice] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170519211635/http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/aztecs/sacrifice.htm |date=2017-05-19 }}". ''Natural History'', April 1977. Vol. 86, No. 4, pages 46–51.</ref>