Pyramids: Models of the Spacetime Matrix
by Will Hart

When we look at pyramids and try to comprehend why ancient cultures built
them, why they chose this particular shape and what it means, it is usually not
through the lens of science. We seem to assume or have been conditioned to
presume that the depths of the pyramid civilizations are too mysterious for us
to penetrate and too alien for our logic to unravel. But is this mindset
warranted? Might it be that it is our attitudes that are preventing
comprehension and not the pyramids or their ancient builders?
At this point we are going to take a clinical, architectural approach to the
shape of the physical structure and leave out symbolism or metaphysics. A
pyramid or step-pyramid has several obvious structural features: 1) a square or
slightly rectangular base and 2) four sides that have a tetrahedral shape that
slope inward toward an apex or a truncated platform instead of an apex.
Right away we note that there is nothing mystical or occult about a quadratic
structure, which the pyramid surely is. Most buildings have a square or
rectangular base or foundation today and far back into the past as well. This
4-cornered foundation and four-sided building is so common we take the structure
for granted and never examine the phenomenon. However, there is every indication
that the ancients conducted serious studies of this issue. They appear to have
determined that the earth and cosmos have a quadratic foundation at least in the
material realm.
Let us move together slowly and patiently and not leap ahead into unproven
conclusions.
The theory of relativity tells us we live in a 4-dimensional universe, 3
dimensions of space and 1 of time. The three spatial dimensions are simply
length, breadth and height. Super string theory, which posits many additional
mirco-dimensions aside; 3-D is the reality of architecture and of the coordinate
system used in map making and the basis of ordinary experience.
Was this reality any different for the ancient pyramid-building
civilizations? No, it was not and the evidence suggests that the pyramid shape
was their acknowledgement of the nature of the space-time continuum. Even more
specifically the pyramid was their answer to the problem of local conditions on
planet Earth. What does the author mean by that statement?
When we carefully examine the view of the universe that modern physicists
give us it is really rather simplistic. What does living in a 3-D spacetime
continuum mean? In fact, on earth we need to know more exact information about
space just to function and carry on the business of survival. Stop and consider
the reality. We are always at a point, a position on the map, and in order to
function and get from point A to B we have to know where we are and where B is
in relation to our current position. In other words, you have to orient yourself
to the 4 directions and fix A and B in that context.
In modern civilization mapmakers and surveyors have done all this for us.
They have laid everything out for us maps and road builders construct highways
and post signs that we then follow, no problem. But if you ever venture into a
wilderness area and head off the trail into the bush or are in a jungle where
there are no signs, the ancient reality will hit you. If you do not know how to
use the sun (or stars) to orient yourself to the directions, you will probably
get lost very quickly.
It is not enough just to know the 3 generic spatial dimensions. In order to
function in the world we have to know how to orient ourselves to the four
directions. Since this has already been done for us, in most modern contexts, it
has become another basic fact that we are afforded the luxury of taking for
granted. But the ancient pyramid builders could not and did not take this
fundamental reality for granted. In addition to acknowledging the 3 dimensions
of space with a structure that had a square base and four sides they focused
attention on the 4 directions of space.
This would appear to be a more practical and realistic grasp of the
conditions we find ourselves in on earth than the imprecise, generic vision of
modern physics. The spatial dimensions of length, breadth and height are not
going to help me get from where I am to where I need to go. I must have some
sense that this 3-D spacetime continuum, which has a curved shape, also contains
a directional orientation.
The author submits that the ancients took all of these factors into
consideration when they selected the coordinates for the pyramid sites. In fact,
their grasp of the actual complexity of the problems posed by fixing coordinates
and directions in space and time on a sphere
were indicated in their cosmological conceptions. We can assume that they
worked out their cosmology prior to building pyramids.
In the sacred book the Chilam Balam of Chumayel, the Maya priests begin by
sketching out how the world was created and they quickly establish the need for
orientation, the concept that directions and reference points need to be
established in space.
[When the world was created] a pillar of the sky was set up . . .that was the
white tree of abundance in the north. Then the black tree of abundance was set
up [in the west]. . .. Then the yellow tree of abundance was set up [in the
south]. Then the [great] green [ceiba] tree of abundance was set up in the
center [of the world].
As we outlined above as soon as we are manifest in the world of 3-D space we
need to know where we are and become quickly adept at orienting to the
directions. The concept of space without a sense of the 4 directions is not
detailed or specific enough to be of much practical use. Now, does the quadratic
base of the pyramid, the foundation with four anchor points and 4 sides start to
make more sense?
The author will propose that when the ancients thought of space they
immediately included the four directions. The sense of orientation in space was
so integral and so crucial to the Maya that they depicted four brothers holding
the earth together. The Bacab Brothers were given the duty of holding up the
four-corners of the world. This task was considered so important that when a
cataclysm destroyed the earth in a remote epoch, only the heroic Bacabs stood
their ground and survived. That allowed the human race to become re-established
on earth.
Is this just a poetic view of the universe that has no basis in scientific
fact and no utility in the modern world? Study it carefully and you will find
that those ancient priests were not only describing the local spacetime
conditions on earth for human beings, they were pointing to a central feature of
human consciousness. Our spatial world can only be navigated using a system of
coordinates that must be oriented to the four directions. We are soon lost
without this basic frame of reference.
The Maya made it very clear that this was a central principle in their
cosmology. Their creation account begins with it and the tale of the four Bacabs
further emphasizes this core concept. Now, exactly what is the central paradigm
they were portraying? The nature of our material world, the three dimensions of
space and one of time as manifested on earth includes a dimension of direction
or orientation. That dimension also contains the fourth dimension, time.
Wait a minute you may be saying how did I make that leap and that connection?
Think of the real world. We have already said that most buildings have a square
or rectangular base that has four foundational points. Now, consider the
structure of four-legged animals. Why do they have four legs, why not five or
seven? Long ago nature determined that four legs are the most economical way to
provide locomotion and balance, form follows function. What about automobiles,
why four wheels?
The questions almost seem absurd because the answers seem obvious but that is
only because we take granted the fact that a structure with four anchor points
is solid and balanced.
The quadratic structure of the pyramid was not an arbitrary choice it had to
do with the essential properties of matter and the spacetime continuum. Perhaps
examining the Pyramid of Kukulkan located at Chichen Itza in the Yucatan will
help illustrate what the author is getting at.
First, let me start by establishing that the Maya had a very advanced
understanding of the coordinate system modern surveyors and cartographers use to
make accurate maps. Authors and earth-grid researchers Carl Munck and Charles
Johnson have established that the ancients positioned their sites at precise
geodetic points around the globe. In fact, the sites are aligned and appear to
form a global grid pattern (Please see “The Geometry of Ancient Sites “ by
Charles Johnson).
There are several principal alignments in Mesoamerica, 89-90 degrees W.
longitude and 19-20 degrees N. latitude. Strings of pyramid sites run along a
north-south axis along the former and an east west meridian along the latter.
The Pyramid of Kukulkan was built on the latter at 20 degrees N. latitude, 88.2
W. longitude. Now, we have the specific coordinates and can locate the exact
position of the pyramid. It is the author’s contention, borne out by the
evidence of the grid pattern found in ancient Mexico, that the builders
deliberately selected this position.
With the coordinate established we can investigate the structural features
and how they reflect the cosmology, consciousness and worldview of the builders.
Analyzing the Pyramid of Kukulkan
The quadratic shape of the structure, four triangles set on a square base
suggest the cardinal points and the four seasons...

Pyramid of Kukulkan
Photo (Will Hart)
A square base is needed to reflect the 4 cardinal points and orient the
structure in the directional coordinates of space as we have described. In
addition, this also establishes the fact that there are four seasons. Here is
where the fourth dimension of time enters the picture. As we have established
the Maya cosmology was centered on the quadratic structure of the spacetime
continuum and the Bacab brothers stood as the anchor points of the four
directions.
They also realized that this structure was reflected in the four seasons that
made up the year. This automatically brought the passage of time and their
calendar system into the equation. Let us closely analyze how these features
were embodied in the base. Each of the four seasons extends for 91 days. The
Maya built this fact into the pyramid. As you can see each face contains a
staircase comprised of 91 steps, so this is not an idle or speculative
conjecture. Now, we see that each of the 4 sides not only represents a direction
but it also represents one of the four seasons.
The corners of each face reflected the two equinoxes and two solstices. So we
can then see that from one corner to another is 91 days, then a 90-degree turn,
as for example when the spring equinox arrives and we move through that season
for 3 months until the summer solstice. The corners represent this shift of
seasons on the horizontal plane; the angles and staircase embody it on the
vertical axis.
From this we can appreciate that the ancient pyramid builders built these
structures to embody their conception of the properties of the spacetime on
earth. In fact, they built many additional features into these complexes
including astonishingly sophisticated design elements that reflected important
astronomical events.
The Pyramid of Kukulkan is a prime example. The site was laid out and the
dimensions chosen were so accurate that at the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, at
the rising and setting of the sun, the corner of the structure casts a shadow in
the shape of a serpent – (Kukulkan/ Quetzacoatl) – undulating down the side of
the staircase
That is a graphic depiction of all that we have covered, the movement of time
woven into the dimensions of space.
As the author suggested at the beginning of this essay, if we shift our
thought processes just a little, the truth about the pyramid civilizations comes
into focus. We are looking at an example of an ancient science, which had a
surprisingly sophisticated view of the universe. It was only last century that
Albert Einstein showed that space and time are independent and yet the Maya
demonstrated this understanding long ago…
Copyright Information
All articles on this page are
© 2004-2007 by Will Hart.
Reprinted with permission.
Will Hart is a freelance journalist, book author, nature photographer and
documentary filmmaker. He has been
investigating ancient mysteries and evidence of extraterrestrial
intervention on Earth since 1969. He lives in Arizona.