The Mayan and Aztec culture are famous for their fabulous structures, not simply for their scale but also their architectural design, which include various, very steep, sided pyramids.

The curious things about these are their steepness. Indeed, the agenda may have been to simply gain as much height as possible while maintaining the smallest base area, whether this is part of the design concept or not, what does exist, are tall structures with very wide staircases with very shallow steps.

Stone staircases are dangerous in themselves, but to purposefully have them so steep and shallow may be seen as a test of faith to climb them.

Yet, it may be the very nature of faith as to why they are designed as they are, due to another aspect that the Mayan and Aztec culture shared – the practice of human sacrifice.

Some theories are concluding the reason the pyramids became so steep was due to the fact that when a body was sacrificed at the top of the pyramid the body would have been thrown down the steps. If the staircases were thinner, then the risk was the body may have bounced down the sides of the structure rather then being directed down the stairs. More significantly, the steps were made steep and shallow to encourage the body to fall all the way to the ground, as a less steep, slow, and bigger steps would have run the risk of the body stopping halfway. And who wants that?

So it appears, that those steep staircases of the Mayan and Aztec were specifically designed for a deadly fall.

How steep will you build your Pyramid?