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Pyramids and Embedded Perceptions

By Emory Taylor

All statements in brackets are mine.

Recall, from the Hieroglyphs and Hypotheses section of this
research, that words have meanings and perceptions embedded into
them, and that in a different culture a word my have a completely
different meaning and perception from the meaning and perception it
has in your culture. So when an author, be it a scholar or
layperson, writes that the pyramids were tombs or graves, just what
does the author mean, and how does the reader interpret the words
tomb and grave, and how does the author's meaning, and the reader's
interpretation, compare with the meanings and perceptions embedded
into the words by the culture about which the author is writing?

Recall, the following, from the Pyramids and Symbols section of
this research. "Symbols, like words, which are also symbols, have
meanings embedded into them, and, like language, symbols have a
perception embedded into them. In order to understand what is
conveyed by a particular symbol, such as a pyramid, we must know
the meaning and perception embedded into the symbol by the culture
that created that symbol."

The Complete Pyramids: solving the ancient mysteries --- Lehner

Quoting from the back inside cover. "Mark Lehner is Visiting
Assistant Professor of Egyptian Archaeology at the Oriental
Institute, University of Chicago, and a Research Associate at the
Harvard Semitic Museum. From 1979 to 1983 he directed the Sphinx
and Isis Temple Project and since 1984 he has been director of the
Giza Plateau Mapping Project.

In the following quote note that M. Lehner states "far more than
just the grave of a king."

9/1/1, M. Lehner wrote, "It is true that the pyramids are pharaonic
tombs, but the tomb of a pharaoh of ancient Egypt was far more than
just the grave of a king."

9/2/2-last "When the Egyptians built the pyramids, they also
founded new farms, ranches and whole new towns in the provinces.
The livestock and produce from these estates flowed into the area
of the pyramid complex where they were redistributed to the work
force and to the priests and special classes of people who served
the temple complex. So the pyramid was also an economic engine,
and, especially during the Old Kingdom, a major catalyst for
internal colonization and the development of Egypt as one of the
world's first true states."

M. Lehner refers to the pyramid as a "cosmic engine," saying, at
20/1/4-7, "...in fact, each pyramid ensured the rule of universal
order, the turning of the days and seasons, and the flooding of the
Nile. The mechanics of the pyramid as cosmic engine depended on the
Egyptian concept of a person and the distinct phases of life and
death, called kheperu. These 'transformations' continued when the
ka, the ba and the body, which had become separated at death,
interacted in the final transformation - becoming an akh, a
glorified being of light, effective in the Afterlife. The pyramid
was an instrument that enabled this alchemy to take place for the
pharaoh, who had ruled as the god incarnate, and allowed that
incarnation to pass from father to son, from Osiris to Horus.
Encapsulating the dangerous interface between cosmic order and the
terrible formlessness of time before the beginning, the pyramid is
better understood as the meeting point of life and light with death
and darkness."

Where did M. Lehner get his "cosmic engine" idea?

20/1/8-last, "Our earliest insight into such ideas comes from the
Pyramid Texts, written on the walls of pyramid chambers beginning
with Unas in the 5th dynasty. These texts speak to us of what the
pyramid meant as an icon and offer glimpses of the burial
ceremonies for the god-king and the rituals that were carried out
once his mortal remains had been mummified and entombed, setting
the cosmic engine in motion."

22/2/4 "For them [the ancient Egyptians] death was not the end, but
just one of the transformations in life's natural cycle."

At 24/1/2 M. Lehner writes, "For the king, the pyramid was the
place of ascension and transformation."

At 24/2/1 M. Lehner writes, "The names of the pyramids show that
they were perceived as places of ascension and transformation."

Clearly, the meanings and perceptions embedded into a pyramid were
not one of a tomb or a grave as defined by us.

At 13/5/4, M. Lehner wrote, "The pyramids no longer connect with
living Egypt and so we have lost sight of their original role in
ancient Egypt." M. Lehner continues, at 13/4/5, "But from the
Mokkatam Hills, there is still the sense of the pyramid field as
one vast Memphite necropolis, the pyramids standing as giant
tombstones of distance god-kings." Clearly, "tombstones" is not
what the pyramids represented to the ancient Egyptians: it is not
how the ancient Egyptians would have seen the pyramids. To refer to
the pyramid as "tombstones," or as a tomb, or as a grave is simple
non-sense.

Now contrast M. Lehner's image of the pyramids as "tombstones" with
his statement of 9/3. "The complete pyramid played many roles:
massive labor project; baker and brewer for hundreds of consumers;
colonizer of the Egyptian provinces; employer of farmers, herdsmen
and craftsmen of all kinds; temple and ritual center at the core of
the Egyptian state; reliquary of a king; embodiment of light and
shadow; and the union of death and rebirth." Clearly, these are
part of what the pyramids represented to the ancient Egyptians:
part of the perceptions embedded into the pyramids.

Architecture And People --- Raskin

In 1974, Eugene Raskin was Adjunct Professor of Architecture at
Columbia University, and author of several books.

83/1 "When we speak of a building as expressing this or that we are
clearly assuming that architecture, in addition to its functional
tasks, is also a medium of communication. It conveys meaning, just
as these words, printed on this paper, convey --- it is hoped ---
meanings. Of course, those who have the meanings to convey, in this
case the architects, and those who 'read' the messages must possess
some common knowledge of the language being used. For people who
have been brought up in the same society this is a simple matter;
they acquire their knowledge without effort, just as they learn to
speak. A person from another culture, say an aboriginal tribesman
from the South Pacific, might have the same difficulty
understanding our architecture that he has with our language,
costumes, and moral standards. He probably would not be able to
tell a church from a post office. In fact, he would not know what a
church is, let alone a post office. But if it is your own culture,
one you have been raised in and perhaps have had a hand in shaping,
you not only understand the basic statements made by buildings,
such as 'I am a church' or 'I am a gas station,' you also can read
modifying comments and nuances..."

When M. Lehner saw the pyramids as "tombstones," he was seeing the
pyramids as though he were looking through the eyes of an
"aboriginal tribesman from the South Pacific," not as an Egyptian
from ancient Egypt.

The endless procession of scholars who continually see the pyramids
as tombs or graves are also seeing the pyramids as though they were
looking through the eyes of an "aboriginal tribesmen from the South
Pacific," not as an Egyptian from ancient Egypt.

Until we know the meanings and perceptions embedded into the
language and symbols of the ancient Egyptians, we cannot re-create
the state of mind or truly understand the motives of human society
5000 years ago, but it should be apparent that their motives were
not purely religious, and were not purely political, and were not
purely economic. A pyramid had religious, political, and economic
meanings and perceptions embedded into them by the culture that
created them --- the ancient Egyptian culture. We must see with the
eyes of an ancient Egyptian, not with the eyes of an "aborigional
tribesman from the South Pacific."

The Complete Pyramids: solving the ancient mysteries --- Lehner
Lehner, Mark. 1997. The Complete Pyramids: solving the ancient
mysteries. Thames and Hudson Ltd, London. ISBN 0-500-05084-8

Architecture And People --- Raskin
Raskin, Eugene. 1974. Architecture And People. Prentice-Hall, Inc.
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.