There are some things that the human instinct just induces people to do – even if no one tells them to do it. Humans on nearly every continent have built something like pyramids at one time or another. There are ancient pyramids in North Africa, Europe, Central America and even something like them in India. Humans built these in ancient times when they didn't even know of one another. It was just human instinct that made them do this.
But there could be a practical reason why everyone in ancient times built in this shape. When you have a tapering shape like that, most of the heavy duty building work is on the lower levels. Since pyramids have narrow tops, not as many stones have to be hauled up there. When one builds stepped pyramids like they did in Central America, hauling stones to the top would have been easier.
While smooth sided pyramids were the most common in Egypt, they built stepped ones too, sometimes. There are about 80 pyramids in Egypt built along the banks of the River Nile. They built them over a whole millennium, starting with the year 1640 BC. As popular as these structures were, surprisingly, no one really knows how exactly they were built. There seem to be no proper records that describe the building process. As far as anyone can tell, the stones were dragged on rollers to the top on long ramps.
But there could be a practical reason why everyone in ancient times built in this shape. When you have a tapering shape like that, most of the heavy duty building work is on the lower levels. Since pyramids have narrow tops, not as many stones have to be hauled up there. When one builds stepped pyramids like they did in Central America, hauling stones to the top would have been easier.
While smooth sided pyramids were the most common in Egypt, they built stepped ones too, sometimes. There are about 80 pyramids in Egypt built along the banks of the River Nile. They built them over a whole millennium, starting with the year 1640 BC. As popular as these structures were, surprisingly, no one really knows how exactly they were built. There seem to be no proper records that describe the building process. As far as anyone can tell, the stones were dragged on rollers to the top on long ramps.