Mastaba vs. Pyramid — What's the Difference?

Mastabas were principally constructed from mud-bricks or stones.

A solid figure with a polygonal base and triangular faces that meet at a common point.

The mastaba's interior often features detailed depictions of daily and religious life.

Something shaped like this polyhedron.

A mastaba is an ancient Egyptian tomb with a rectangular base and sloping sides.

A massive monument of ancient Egypt having a rectangular base and four triangular faces culminating in a single apex, built over or around a crypt or tomb.

Mastabas served as burial places for officials and high-ranking individuals.

Any of various similar constructions, especially a four-sided Mesoamerican temple having stepped sides and a flat top surmounted by chambers.

Mastabas, despite their architectural simplicity, reveal detailed insights into ancient Egyptian beliefs and society.

The transactions involved in pyramiding stock.

An ancient Egyptian tomb with a rectangular base, sloping sides, and a flat roof.

(Anatomy) A structure or part suggestive of a pyramid in shape.

A wide stone bench built into the wall of a house, shop etc. in the Middle East.

To place or build in the shape of a pyramid.

(architecture) A rectangular structure with a flat top and slightly sloping sides, built during Ancient Egyptian times above tombs that were situated on flat land. Mastabas were made of wood, mud bricks, stone, or a combination of these materials. Some are solid structures, while others can contain one or more rooms, sometimes decorated with paintings or inscriptions.

To build (an argument or thesis, for example) progressively from a basic general premise.

In Mohammedan countries, a fixed seat, common in dwellings and in public places.

To speculate in (stock) by making a series of buying and selling transactions in which paper profits are used as margin for buying more stock.

A type of tomb, of the time of the Memphite dynasties, comprising an oblong structure with sloping sides (sometimes containing a decorated chamber, sometimes of solid masonry), and connected with a mummy chamber in the rock beneath.

To assume the shape of a pyramid.

An ancient Egyptian mudbrick tomb with a rectangular base and sloping sides and flat roof;

To increase rapidly and on a widening base.

To pyramid stocks.

An ancient massive construction with a square or rectangular base and four triangular sides meeting in an apex, such as those built as tombs in Egypt or as bases for temples in Mesoamerica.

A construction in the shape of a pyramid, usually with a square or rectangular base.

(geometry) A solid with triangular lateral faces and a polygonal (often square or rectangular) base.

(neuroanatomy) A medullary pyramid, the medial-most bumps on the ventral side of the medulla oblongata

The game of pool in which the balls are placed in the form of a triangle at spot.

A pyramid scheme.

Alternative case form of Pyramid}}. {{gloss

(card games) The triangular layout of cards in the game of Pyramid.

(journalism) An approximately triangular headline consisting of several centered lines of text of increasing length.

To build up or be arranged in the form of a pyramid.

To combine (a series of genes) into a single genotype.

(intransitive) To employ, or take part in, a pyramid scheme.

(finance) To engage in pyramid trading.

A solid body standing on a triangular, square, or polygonal base, and terminating in a point at the top; especially, a structure or edifice of this shape.

A solid figure contained by a plane rectilineal figure as base and several triangles which have a common vertex and whose bases are sides of the base.

The game of pool in which the balls are placed in the form of a triangle at spot.

A fraudulent investment scheme in which the manager promises high profits, but instead of investing the money in a genuine profit-making activity, uses the money from later investors to pay the profits to earlier investors; - also called pyramid scheme or pyramid operation. This process inevitably collapses when insufficient new investors are available, leaving the later investors with total or near-total losses of their investments. The managers usually blame government regulations or interference for the collapse of the scheme, rather than admit fraud.

To enlarge one's holding or interest in a series of operations on a continued rise or decline by using the profits to buy or sell additional amounts on a margin, as where one buys on a 10% margin 100 shares of stock quoted at 100, holds it till it rises to 105, and then uses the paper profit to buy 50 shares more, etc. The series of operations constitutes a pyramid. A similar process of reinvesting gains or winnings (as of a gamble), but not involving operation on margin, is called a parlay.

A polyhedron having a polygonal base and triangular sides with a common vertex

(stock market) a series of transactions in which the speculator increases his holdings by using the rising market value of those holdings as margin for further purchases

A massive memorial with a square base and four triangular sides; built as royal tombs in ancient Egypt

Enlarge one's holdings on an exchange on a continued rise by using paper profits as margin to buy additional amounts

Use or deal in (as of stock or commercial transaction) in a pyramid deal

Arrange or build up as if on the base of a pyramid

Increase rapidly and progressively step by step on a broad base

Mastabas are primarily found in ancient Egyptian burial sites, especially in the early dynastic periods.

The Great Pyramid of Giza, built for Pharaoh Khufu, is the most famous and largest pyramid.

A Pyramid is a monumental structure with a triangular or square base and sloping sides that meet at a point at the top, mainly built as a royal tomb in ancient Egypt.

A Mastaba is an ancient Egyptian tomb with a rectangular base, sloping sides, and a flat roof, typically built of mud-bricks or stone.

While Mastabas are predominantly associated with ancient Egypt, similar structures have been found in other parts of the ancient Near East.

While both serve as tombs, Mastabas have a flat roof and are rectangular, whereas Pyramids have triangular sides that converge to a point at the top.

A Mastaba typically contains a chapel for offerings, a statue of the deceased, and underground chambers where the body and grave goods are placed.

The pyramid design evolved from the Mastaba. As architectural techniques advanced, the step pyramid was developed, which later transitioned to the true smooth-sided pyramid.

Pyramids were primarily built as royal tombs, representing the might of the Pharaoh, and to ensure the king's safe passage to the afterlife.

The pyramid's shape is believed to symbolize the primordial mound from which the ancient Egyptians believed the Earth was created. It also represents the sun's rays descending to the Earth.

Yes, pyramids exist in various parts of the world, like Sudan, Mexico, and India. However, their purposes and designs might differ from the Egyptian pyramids.

Mastabas were constructed using mud-bricks or stone, with interior chambers carved out for the deceased and their belongings.

Mastabas were built as tombs for the elite and officials, providing a place for the deceased's ka (spirit) and housing offerings to sustain the dead in the afterlife.

Yes, while Pharaohs had grander tombs, Mastabas were built for nobles, officials, and other individuals of high status.

Yes, both structures had religious significance, with rituals, offerings, and ceremonies performed to honor the dead and ensure their well-being in the afterlife.