Tuesday, July 19, 2011

CHARICE ( My Idol )


Charmaine Clarice Relucio Pempengco (born May 10, 1992), popularly known by the mononym Charice, is a Filipino recording artist and actress who rose to popularity through YouTube. Dubbed by Oprah Winfrey as the Most Talented Girl in the World, she released her first international studio album, Charice in 2010. The album entered the Billboard 200 at number-eight making Charice the first Asian singer in history to land in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 album chart. She released the single, "Pyramid", which featured rapper, Iyaz. It became her most successful single to-date, charting within the top-40 in a number of countries, and debuting on The Oprah Winfrey Show where she sang live vocals. Crossing over to acting on television, she joined the cast of TV series Glee as Sunshine Corazon. She has released a new lead single, "Before It Explodes", written by Bruno Mars, from her upcoming international sophomore studio album.

 

Contents

 

Early life


Pempengco was born in Laguna, Philippines. Raised by a single mother, she helped support the family by entering singing contests at age seven, from town fiestas in various provinces to singing competitions on TV. She is said to have competed in almost a hundred such contests. In 2005, Charice joined Little Big Star, a talent show in the Philippines loosely patterned after American Idol. Eliminated after her first performance, she was called back as a wildcard contender and eventually became one of the finalists. Although she was a consistent top scorer in the final rounds, she did not win the title in the finale and only placed third.
Charice made minor appearances on local television shows and commercials, but essentially fell off the radar after her stint at Little Big Star. It was not until 2007 that she gained worldwide recognition after an avid supporter under the username FalseVoice, started posting a series of her performance videos on YouTube. These videos received over 15 million hits.

 

 Career

 

Discovery (2007–2008)

In June 2007, Ten Songs/Productions, a music publishing company in Sweden, invited Pempengco to a demo-recording after producers saw her videos. She recorded seven songs – six covers and an original song entitled "Amazing". She was then invited to the South Korean talent show Star King on its October 13, 2007 edition, she sang "And I Am Telling You" and a duet of "A Whole New World" with Kyuhyun, from Super Junior. After watching her Star King performance on YouTube, Ellen DeGeneres extended an on-air invitation to Pempengco to guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. She flew to the United States for the first time and performed two songs on the December 19, 2007 episode of the show – "I Will Always Love You" and "And I Am Telling You". Following her American debut on Ellen, she made a second appearance on Star King as the "Most Requested Foreign Act" of the show. On its December 28 edition, she performed Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" and sang a duet with singer Lena Park. In January 2008, she was invited to the Malacañang Palace where she performed for Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. She returned to the international scene when she guested on the April 8 episode of The Paul O'Grady Show in London, England. Her self-titled Philippine debut album Charice was released in May 2008. The mini album, consisting of six songs and six backing tracks, was awarded gold certification in the Philippines in October 2008. The album eventually achieved platinum status in 2009. Pempengco appeared on the May 12 edition of The Oprah Winfrey Show in an episode entitled the "World's Smartest Kids", where she performed Whitney Houston's I Have Nothing. After the show, Oprah Winfrey contacted David Foster to see what the legendary music producer could do for Pempengco. She performed with Foster for the first time as one of the entertainers on the May 17 opening of the MGM Grand at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut. She made her debut on the international concert stage in Foster's May 23 tribute concert, Hitman: David Foster and Friends, at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. She performed a medley of songs from The Bodyguard as well as her standard, "And I Am Telling You".
A CD/DVD of the concert, including Pempengco's The Bodyguard medley, was released on November 11, 2008. The show was aired several times on PBS and other public television networks starting in December 2008 under the Great Performances banner. One of the singers at the concert was Pempengco's idol, Andrea Bocelli. Bocelli subsequently expressed interest in performing a duet with her and personally invited her to be a guest on his birthday concert "The Cinema Tribute" held on July 20 at the Teatro del Silenzio in his hometown of Lajatico, Tuscany, Italy. Aside from her solo performance, she sang a duet of "The Prayer" with the famous tenor in front of more than 8,000 people. She was invited to perform for the Feyenoord's Centennial Anniversary in the Netherlands held on September 26. Before a crowd of about 50,000 football (soccer) fans, she sang the team's anthem, "You'll Never Walk Alone." When she guested on the "Dreams Come True" episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show on September 9, Oprah referred to her as "The Most Talented Girl in the World." She sang Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" with David Foster on piano, after which Oprah surprised her with an appearance by Celine Dion via satellite, who invited her to sing a special duet at New York City's Madison Square Garden as part of Dion's Taking Chances Tour. She performed her promised duet with Celine Dion on September 15. They sang "Because You Loved Me," dedicated to Pempengco's mother. The performance received rave reviews in The New York Post and The New York Times. The duet was eventually featured on the September 19 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show. She would then perform at the Andre Agassi Grand Slam for Children Benefit Concert at the Wynn Las Vegas casino resort. In November, she and David Foster guested on Good Morning America to promote Foster's tribute album, Hitman: David Foster and Friends. She performed The Bodyguard medley and "I Will Survive."

 

Move to the United States (2009–2010)


In January 2009, Pempengco performed at two US presidential pre-inaugural events in Washington, D.C., namely the Martin Luther King Jr "Realizing The Dream" gala at the Hyatt Regency Hotel and at the "Pearl Presidential Inaugural Gala" at the Mandarin Hotel. In February, she performed at two post-Oscar award events: Oscar Night at Mr. Chow's and Oprah's Oscar After Party held in Kodak Theatre. She debuted a new original song entitled "Fingerprint" composed by Robbie Nevil and produced by David Foster. In April, she appeared in the season premiere of Ti lascio una canzone, an Italian musical variety show televised from Teatro Ariston in the city of Sanremo. She performed "I Will Always Love You", "I Have Nothing", "The Prayer", and "Listen". Later that same month, she would go on to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" in front of 57,000 baseball fans during the Los Angeles Dodgers 52nd season home opener at Dodger Stadium. In May, she released her Philippine second album entitled My Inspiration. The album consisted of 12 tracks, including "Always You" and a cover of Helen Reddy's "You and Me Against the World" performed as a duet with her mother. The album was certified gold in the Philippines within two months after release,  and then platinum in December 2009. Also in May, she would again perform at a David Foster and Friends concert held at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. On the May 18 episode "Finale: Oprah's Search for the World's Most Talented Kids" of The Oprah Winfrey Show, she debuted her first internationally released single "Note to God", written by Diane Warren and produced by David Foster. The single was made available for digital download on the same day and debuted at #24 on Billboard's Hot Digital Songs chart, #44 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, #9 on the Hot Canadian Digital Singles chart and #35 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart. Later that same month, she was again invited to sing at the Ti lascio una canzone show as a special guest. She staged her first major concert called: Charice: The Journey Begins on June 27 at the SMX Convention Center, SM Mall of Asia, Philippines to a sold-out crowd. Her guests included Christian Bautista, Kuh Ledesma and Little Big Star finalists. Pempengco contributed to two Christmas albums in 2009. The first as David Archuleta's duet partner for the song "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" in his Christmas album entitled Christmas from the Heart.[59] The second is a compilation Christmas album entitled A Very Special Christmas Volume 7 in which she contributed her own rendition of "The Christmas Song". She was one of the headlining acts in the David Foster and Friends 10-City North American Tour that ran during the fall of 2009. She made a cameo appearance in her first feature film, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, released in North America on December 23. She is also part of the official movie soundtrack with her rendition of "No One" by Alicia Keys accompanied by The Chipettes. Later in the month, she appeared on Singapore Idol's grand finale episode as a guest performer, where she performed two of her signature songs, The Bodyguard medley and "Note to God".

 

Charice (2010-present)

Charice performing at the Toronto Eaton Centre in 2010

On January 23, 2010, she appeared on Io Canto, a renowned singing competition in Italy. She performed her standards plus an Italian favorite called "Adagio" (made popular by Lara Fabian), in Italian. On January 31, she was featured as one of the musical acts on the NBC Sports program Silk Soy Milk Skate for the Heart, a show designed to raise awareness of heart disease. She performed "Note to God" and debuted two new songs included in her debut album, "In This Song" and "Breathe Out" (later retitled as "Breathe You Out"). The album version and club remixes of her second single, "Pyramid" (featuring Iyaz), from her international debut album were released on February 23, 2010 and March 2, 2010. Her self-titled international debut album with Reprise Records was released on May 11, 2010. On its first week, the album reached #8 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart, making her the first Asian to enter the Top 10.[disputed – discuss] On the same day as part of her album launching, she again made a guest appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show along with another YouTube-discovered singer Justin Bieber. Pempengco's world-wide promotion of her album was shown in a 12-part mini-documentary entitled 30 Days with Charice, which was filmed by Alloy TV and published at Teen.com. On June 22, Pempengco herself confirmed that she will join the cast of the hit US television series Glee on its second season. Later in the week, she released a promotional single entitled "Crescent Moon" in Japan. The single is an English rendition of the Japanese song "Mikazuki" by Ayaka. During the inauguration of Philippine President Benigno Aquino III on June 30, 2010, she sang the Philippine national anthem in front of a crowd estimated at more than half a million. In July, she embarked on an album promotional tour of Asia covering Thailand, the Philippines, Japan and South Korea. While in South Korea, she appeared on the show Star King for the third time. On September 7, the premiere of Glee's second season was held in Hollywood with Pempengco in attendance. Cast in a recurring role, she plays an exchange student from the Philippines named Sunshine Corazon who presents serious competition against lead character Rachel Berry (played by Lea Michele).[77] On November 30, she appeared on NBC's Christmas in Rockefeller Center and performed two songs from her Christmas EP, "Grown-Up Christmas List" and "Jingle Bell Rock", with producer and mentor David Foster. In December, she became Operation Smile's official Smile Ambassador. She joins other celebrity Smile Ambassadors such as Jessica Simpson, Billy Bush, and Zachary Levi in the organization's global efforts of providing free surgeries to children born with cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities.[79][80] On February 13, 2011, her very first television musical special entitled Charice: Home for Valentine's was broadcasted on Philippine television's GMA 7 network. According to AGB Nielsen TV Audience Measurement, the show earned the highest rating of the night in the Mega Manila area, beating its competition by a wide margin. From February 21 to February 25, she embarked on her very first solo tour performing in four shows held at three different Zepp music halls in Japan (Nagoya, two Tokyo dates, and Osaka).

 

Upcoming sophomore international album

It was announced that she began to record new material for her upcoming sophomore international album. "Before It Explodes" was released as her comeback single, which was written by Bruno Mars. The single was released on April 18, 2011. The following day after its release, another song, titled "One Day", was released on iTunes, which was co-written and co-produced by Nick Jonas. "Louder", the second single was released on May 20 which was bundled with another song, "Lost The Best Thing".

 

Voice

In an ABC News interview, David Foster mentioned that she has the ability to mimic other people's voices, which, according to him, is a characteristic of good singers. In a separate interview, Josh Groban stated that Charice's voice is one of the most beautiful voices he has heard in a long time. The New York Post once called her a vocal prodigy for being able to sing 'big songs' even at her tender age. Ryan Murphy, the executive music producer of the hit US television series Glee, said, "When that girl opens her mouth, angels fly out."

 

Awards and recognitions

Charice's star in the Eastwood City Walk of Fame, the Philippine equivalent of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
  • 3rd Place – Little Big Star Big Division, Season 1, Philippines
  • Most Requested Foreign Act of 2007 – StarKing, South Korea
  • Most Memorable Moment of 2007 – The Ellen DeGeneres Show, USA
  • Pinoy World Class Talent – 20th Year Anniversary of the Music Museum, 2008, Philippines
  • Key To The City of Rotterdam – Mayor Ivo Opstelten, 2008, The Netherlands
  • Best New Female Recording Artist – Aliw Awards, 2008, Philippines
  • Newsmaker of the Year 2008, 2009 and 2010 – Balitang America, USA
  • People of the Year 2008 – People Asia Magazine, 2009, Philippines
  • Plaque of Recognition – The Spirit of EDSA Foundation, 2009, Philippines
  • Special Citation Award – MYX Music Awards 2009, Philippines[96]
  • National Newsmaker of the Year 2008 – Ateneo de Davao University TAO Awards, 2009, Philippines
  • Outstanding Global Achievement – 40th Box Office Entertainment Awards (Guillermo Awards), 2009, Philippines
  • Best Selling Album of the Year - 22nd Awit Awards, 2009, Philippines
  • Best Musical Performance of 2009 – The Oprah Winfrey Show, USA
  • Person of the Year for 2009 – Philnews.com, Philippines
  • MDWK Magazine's Top Newsmakers of 2009 – Asian Journal's MDWK Magazine, Philippines
  • Fun, Fearless Female Award – Cosmopolitan Magazine Philippines, 2010
  • 21 Under 21: Music's Hottest Minors (Number 4) – Billboard, 2010 USA
  • Icon of Tomorrow – J-14 Magazine, 2010 USA
  • BPInoy Award: Outstanding Filipino – Bank of the Philippine Islands, 2010 Philippines
  • Best Inspirational or Religious Song (for "Always You") - 23nd Awit Awards, 2010, Philippines
  • Number 4 in Yahoo!'s 2010 Most Irresistible Lyrics for 'Pyramid' – Yahoo!, 2010
  • Number 7 in Reader's Choice Favorite Album of 2010: 'Charice' - Billboard
  • Number 17 in Best Dance Club Songs of 2010: 'Pyramid' – Billboard
  • Number 59 in Japan Hot 100 Songs of 2010: 'Pyramid' – Billboard
  • J-Wave Tokio Hot 100 Award: Best New Artist - J-Wave Radio, 2011, Japan
  • Female Concert Performer of the Year - 42nd Box-Office Entertainment Awards, 2011, Philippines

 

Discography

Main article: Charice discography
See also: Glee Cast discography

 

Filmography

Movies
Year Film Role Film Production Notes
2009 Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel Talent show contestant 20th Century Fox Cameo
2010 Celine: Through the Eyes of the World Herself The Hot Ticket Documentary-concert film
2012 Here Comes the Boom Malia Dela Cruz Sony Pictures Filming
Television
Year Title Role Network Notes
2008 ASAP Herself ABS-CBN 2008—2010
Maalaala Mo Kaya Herself ABS-CBN Episode "Ice Cream"
2010 May Bukas Pa Choir member ABS-CBN Final Chapter "Amen"
2010–present Glee Sunshine Corazon 20th Century Fox Glee (season 2)
2011 Charice: Home for Valentine's Herself GMA Network a GMA Network Valentine's special
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HISTORY and WONDERS ( Features Pyramid of Egypt )

This article is about pyramid-shaped structures. For the geometric term, see Pyramid (geometry). For other uses, see Pyramid (disambiguation).

The Egyptian pyramids of the Giza Necropolis, as seen from above

Pyramid of the Moon, Teotihuacan

Prasat Thom temple at Koh Ker

Pyramids of Güímar, Tenerife (Spain)

A pyramid (from Greek: "πυραμίς" – pyramis) is a structure in which all of the outer surfaces (excluding the base) are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces (at least four faces including the base). The square pyramid, with square base and four triangular outer surfaces, is a common version.
A pyramid's design, with the majority of the weight closer to the ground, and with the pyramidion on top means that less material higher up on the pyramid will be pushing down from above: this distribution of weight allowed early civilizations to create stable monumental structures. For thousands of years, the largest structures on Earth were pyramids: first the Red Pyramid in the Dashur Necropolis and then the Great Pyramid of Khufu, both of Egypt, the latter the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still remaining. Khufu’s Pyramid is built entirely of limestone, and is considered an architectural masterpiece. It contains around 1,300,000 blocks ranging in weight from 2.5 tons to 15 tons and is built on a square base with sides measuring about 230 m (755 ft), covering 13 acres. Its four sides face the four cardinal points precisely and it has an angle of 52 degrees. The original height of the Pyramid was 146.5 m (488 ft), but today it is only 137 m (455 ft) high, the 9 m (33 ft) that is missing is due to the theft of the fine quality limestone covering, or casing stones to build houses and Mosques in Cairo. It is still the tallest pyramid. The largest pyramid by volume is the Great Pyramid of Cholula, in the Mexican state of Puebla.

 

Contents

Ancient monuments

See also: List of ancient pyramids by country (disambiguation)
Pyramid-shaped structures were built by many ancient civilizations.

Mesopotamia


Chogha Zanbil is an ancient Elamite complex in the Khuzestan province of Iran.

The Mesopotamians built the earliest pyramidal structures, called ziggurats. In ancient times, these were brightly painted. Since they were constructed of sun-dried mud-brick, little remains of them. Ziggurats were built by the Sumerians, Babylonians, Elamites, Akkadians, and Assyrians for local religions. Each ziggurat was part of a temple complex which included other buildings. The precursors of the ziggurat were raised platforms that date from the Ubaid period during the fourth millennium BC. The earliest ziggurats began near the end of the Early Dynastic Period. The latest Mesopotamian ziggurats date from the 6th century BC. Built in receding tiers upon a rectangular, oval, or square platform, the ziggurat was a pyramidal structure with a flat top. Sun-baked bricks made up the core of the ziggurat with facings of fired bricks on the outside. The facings were often glazed in different colors and may have had astrological significance. Kings sometimes had their names engraved on these glazed bricks. The number of tiers ranged from two to seven. It is assumed that they had shrines at the top, but there is no archaeological evidence for this and the only textual evidence is from Herodotus. Access to the shrine would have been by a series of ramps on one side of the ziggurat or by a spiral ramp from base to summit. The Mesopotamian ziggurats were not places for public worship or ceremonies. They were believed to be dwelling places for the gods and each city had its own patron god. Only priests were permitted on the ziggurat or in the rooms at its base, and it was their responsibility to care for the gods and attend to their needs. The priests were very powerful members of Sumerian society.

 

Egypt

Main article: Egyptian pyramids

The ancient pyramids of Egypt

The most famous pyramids are the Egyptian pyramids — huge structures built of brick or stone, some of which are among the world's largest constructions. The age of the pyramids reached its zenith at Giza in 2575-2150 B.C. As of 2008, some 135 pyramids have been discovered in Egypt. The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest in Egypt and one of the largest in the world. Until Lincoln Cathedral was finished in AD 1311, it was the tallest building in the world. The base is over 52,600 square meters in area. While pyramids are associated with Egypt, the nation of Sudan has 220 extant pyramids, the most numerous in the world.
The Great Pyramid of Giza is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is the only one to survive into modern times. The Ancient Egyptians covered the faces of pyramids with polished white limestone, containing great quantities of fossilized seashells. Many of the facing stones have fallen or have been removed and used to build the mosques of Cairo. Most pyramids are located near Cairo, with only one royal pyramid being located south of Cairo, at the Abydos temple complex. The pyramid at Abydos, Egypt were commissioned by Ahmose I who founded the 18th Dynasty and the New Kingdom. The building of pyramids began in the 3rd Dynasty with the reign of King Djoser. Early kings such as Snefru built several pyramids, with subsequent kings adding to the number of pyramids until the end of the Middle Kingdom. The last king to build royal pyramids was Ahmose, with later kings, afraid of looting, deciding to hide their tombs in the hills, like in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor's West Bank.

In Medinat Habu, or Deir el-Medina, smaller pyramids were built by individuals. Smaller pyramids were also built by the Nubians who ruled Egypt in the Late Period, though their pyramids had steeper sides. 

 

Sudan

Main article: Nubian pyramids

Nubian Pyramids at Meroe
Nubian pyramids were constructed (roughly 220 of them) at three sites in Sudan to serve as tombs for the kings and queens of Napata and Meroë. The pyramids of Kush, also known as Nubian Pyramids, have different characteristics than the pyramids of Egypt. The Nubian pyramids were constructed at a steeper angle than Egyptian ones. They were monuments to dead kings and queens. Pyramids were still being built in Sudan as late as AD 300.

 

Nigeria

One of the unique structures of Igbo culture was the Nsude Pyramids, at the Nigerian town of Nsude, in Abaja, northern Igboland. Ten pyramidal structures were built of clay/mud. The first base section was 60 ft. in circumference and 3 ft. in height. The next stack was 45 ft. in circumference. Circular stacks continued, till it reached the top. The structures were temples for the god Ala/Uto, who was believed to reside at the top. A stick was placed at the top to represent the god's residence. The structures were laid in groups of five parallel to each other. Because it was built of clay/mud like the Deffufa of Nubia, time has taken its toll requiring periodic reconstruction.

 

Greece

Pausanias (2nd century AD) mentions two buildings resembling pyramids, one, twelve miles southwest of the still standing structure at Hellenikon, a common tomb for soldiers who died in a legendary struggle for the throne of Argos and another which he was told was the tomb of Argives killed in a battle around 669/8 BC. Neither of these still survive and there is no evidence that they resembled Egyptian pyramids.

Pyramid of Hellinikon
There are also at least two surviving pyramid-like structures still available to study, one at Hellenikon and the other at Ligourio/Ligurio, a village near the ancient theatre Epidaurus. These buildings were not constructed in the same manner as the pyramids in Egypt. They do have inwardly sloping walls but other than those there is no obvious resemblance to Egyptian pyramids. They had large central rooms (unlike Egyptian pyramids) and the Hellenikon structure is rectangular rather than square, 12.5 meters by 14 meters which means that the sides could not have met at a point. The stone used to build the pyramids was limestone quarried locally and was cut to fit, not into freestanding blocks like the Great Pyramid of Giza. There are no remains or graves in or near the structures. Instead, the rooms that the walls housed were made to be locked from the inside. This coupled with the platform roof, means that one of the functions these structures could have served was as watchtowers. Another possibility for the buildings is that they are shrines to heroes and soldiers of ancient times, but the lock on the inside makes no sense for such a purpose. The dating of these ‘pyramids’ has been made from the pot shards excavated from the floor and on the grounds. The latest dates available from scientific dating have been estimated around the 5th and 4th centuries. Normally this technique is used for dating pottery, but here researchers have used it to try to date stone flakes from the walls of the structures. This has created some debate about whether or not these ‘pyramids’ are actually older than Egypt, which is part of the Black Athena controversy. The basis for their use of thermoluminescence in order to date these structures is a new method of collecting samples for testing. Scientists from laboratories hired out by the recent excavators of the site, The Academy of Athens, say that they can use the electrons trapped on the inner surface of the stones to positively identify the date that the stones were quarried and put together.
Mary Lefkowitz has criticised this research. She suggests that some of the research was done not to determine the reliability of the dating method, as was suggested, but to back up an assumption of age and to make certain points about pyramids and Greek civilization. She notes that not only are the results not very precise, but that other structures mentioned in the research are not in fact pyramids, e.g. a tomb alleged to be the tomb of Amphion and Zethus near Thebes, a structure at Stylidha (Thessaly) which is just a long wall, etc. She also notes the possibility that the stones that were dated might have been recycled from earlier constructions. She also notes that earlier research from the 1930s, confirmed in the 1980s by Fracchia was ignored. She argues that they undertook their research using a novel, previously untested methodology in order to confirm a predetermined theory about the age of these structures. In a recent article to ICI journal Geochronometria Ioannis Liritzis [1, page 294] criticises classicist Lefkowitz (2009: 195-202), referring to her inadequacy in physical methodology, one often encountered with academic historians, and specifically in the methodology known as Surface Luminescence Dating.

 

Spain

The Pyramids of Güímar refer to six rectangular pyramid-shaped, terraced structures, built from lava stone without the use of mortar. They are located in the district of Chacona, part of the town of Güímar on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. The structures have been dated to the 19th century and their original function explained as a byproduct of contemporary agricultural techniques.
Local traditions as well as surviving images indicate that similar structures (also known as, "Morras", "Majanos", "Molleros", or "Paredones") could once have been found in many locations on the island. However, over time they have been dismantled and used as a cheap building material. In Güímar itself there were nine pyramids, only six of which survive.

 

China


Ancient Korean tomb in Ji'an, Northeastern China
Main article: Chinese pyramids
There are many square flat-topped mound tombs in China. The First Emperor Qin Shi Huang (circa 221 BC, who unified the 7 pre-Imperial Kingdoms) was buried under a large mound outside modern day Xi'an. In the following centuries about a dozen more Han Dynasty royals were also buried under flat-topped pyramidal earthworks.

 

Mesoamerica

Main article: Mesoamerican pyramids

The Caral-Supe pyramids, Peru

Pyramid in the Mayan city of Chichen Itza, Mexico
A number of Mesoamerican cultures also 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 pyramid by volume is the Great Pyramid of Cholula, in the Mexican state of Puebla. This pyramid is considered the largest monument ever constructed anywhere in the world, and is still being excavated. The third largest pyramid in the world, the Pyramid of the Sun, at Teotihuacan is also located in Mexico. There is an unusual pyramid with a circular plan at the site of Cuicuilco, now inside Mexico City and mostly covered with lava from an eruption of the Xitle Volcano in the first century BC. There are several circular stepped pyramids called Guachimontones in Teuchitlán, Jalisco as well. Pyramids in Mexico were often used as places of human sacrifice. For the re-consecration of Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in 1487, the Aztecs reported that they sacrificed about 80,400 people over the course of four days.

 

North America

Many mound-building societies of ancient North America built large pyramidal earth structures known as platform mounds. Among the largest and best-known of these structures is Monk's Mound at the site of Cahokia, which has a base larger than that of the Great Pyramid at Giza. While the North American mounds' precise function is not known, they are believed to have played a central role in the mound-building people's religious life.

 

Roman Empire


Pyramid of Cestius in Rome
The 27-metre-high Pyramid of Cestius was built by the end of the first century BC and still exists today, close to the Porta San Paolo. Another one, named Meta Romuli, standing in the Ager Vaticanus (today's Borgo), was destroyed at the end of the 15th century. There is also a Roman era pyramid built in Falicon, France.[20] There were many more pyramids built in France in this period.

 

Medieval Europe

Pyramids have occasionally been used in Christian architecture of the feudal era, e.g. as the tower of Oviedo's Gothic Cathedral of San Salvador. In some cases this leads to speculations on masonic or other symbolical intentions.

 

India


The main gopura of the Thanjavur Temple pyramid.
Many giant granite temple pyramids were made in South India during the Chola Empire, many of which are still in religious use today. Examples of such pyramid temples include Brihadisvara Temple at Thanjavur, the Temple of Gangaikondacholapuram and the Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram. However the largest temple pyramid in the area is Sri Rangam in Srirangam, Tamil Nadu.The Thanjavur temple was built by Raja raja Chola in 11 century. The Brihadisvara Temple was declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1987; the Temple of Gangaikondacholapuram and the Airavatesvara Temple at Darasuram were added as extensions to the site in 2004.

 

Indonesia


Borobudur, Central Java.

Sukuh temple, Central Java.
Next to menhir, stone table, and stone statue; Austronesian megalithic culture in Indonesia also featured earth and stone step pyramid structure called Punden Berundak as discovered in Pangguyangan, Cisolok and Gunung Padang, West Java. The construction of stone pyramid is based from the native beliefs that mountain and high places is the abode for the spirit of the ancestors. The step pyramid is the basic design of 8th century Borobudur Buddhist monument in Central Java. However the later temples built in Java were influenced by Indian Hindu architecture, as displayed by the towering spires of Prambanan temple. In the 15th century Java during late Majapahit period saw the revival of Austronesian indigenous elements as displayed by Sukuh temple that somewhat resemble Mesoamerican pyramid.

Comparison of approximate profiles of some pyramidal or near-pyramidal buildings. Where the base is an oblong, the longer side is shown. Dotted lines indicate original heights, where data is available.

 

Modern pyramids


Karlsruhe Pyramid, Germany
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