{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.mesoamerican-pyramid","code":"thing-q2270185","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q2270185/","name":"Mesoamerican pyramid","alternateNames":[],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.3","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.BLT"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A stepped pyramid built by the civilisations of Mesoamerica, including the Olmec, Maya, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Toltec and Aztec cultures, typically a platform of earth and rubble faced with stone, rising in terraces to a temple at the summit reached by steep stairways, and often enlarged by successive construction phases, as at the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan, El Castillo at Chichen Itza, the Great Pyramid of Cholula, the largest by volume, and the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan; the pyramids served ritual, astronomical and political functions.","purpose":"Let an agent explain Mesoamerican pyramids and their functions, relay major examples, construction and astronomy from archaeological sources with attribution, describe conservation and tourism, and distinguish Mesoamerican pyramids from Egyptian and other pyramids.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Stepped platform form","Summit temple","Successive enlargement","Astronomical alignment"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What Mesoamerican pyramids are.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Form and function.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What are Mesoamerican pyramids, and how did they serve ritual, political and astronomical purposes, as archaeologists describe?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about Mesoamerican pyramids, Egyptian pyramids or other American monuments?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"construction","name":"Construction","description":"Construction.","findings":[{"id":"construction-finding","name":"Construction","description":"Construction.","questions":[{"text":"How were the pyramids built, enlarged in phases and faced with stone and stucco?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific pyramid?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"examples","name":"Examples","description":"Major pyramids.","layers":[{"id":"sites","name":"Sites","description":"Sites.","findings":[{"id":"sites-finding","name":"Sites","description":"Sites.","questions":[{"text":"What distinguishes the Pyramid of the Sun, El Castillo, Cholula, the Templo Mayor and Tikal temples?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"cultures","name":"Cultures","description":"By culture.","findings":[{"id":"cultures-finding","name":"Cultures","description":"Cultures.","questions":[{"text":"How did Olmec, Maya, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Toltec and Aztec pyramids differ?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific culture?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"study","name":"Study","description":"Research.","layers":[{"id":"astronomy","name":"Astronomy","description":"Astronomy and alignment.","findings":[{"id":"astronomy-finding","name":"Astronomy","description":"Astronomy.","questions":[{"text":"What do studies say about alignments such as the equinox serpent at Chichen Itza, with claims attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation attributed and cautious?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"discoveries","name":"Discoveries","description":"Discoveries.","findings":[{"id":"discoveries-finding","name":"Discoveries","description":"Discoveries.","questions":[{"text":"What have tunnels, lidar and excavations revealed inside and around pyramids?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"Conservation and culture.","layers":[{"id":"conservation","name":"Conservation","description":"Conservation and tourism.","findings":[{"id":"conservation-finding","name":"Conservation","description":"Conservation.","questions":[{"text":"How are the pyramids conserved, and how is tourism managed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits archaeological site management?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"culture","name":"Culture","description":"Culture.","findings":[{"id":"culture-finding","name":"Culture","description":"Culture.","questions":[{"text":"How do the pyramids figure in national identity and popular culture?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits Mesoamerican heritage?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Describe Mesoamerican pyramids, their cultures and periods from archaeological sources.","Report damage, erosion or looting at a site to the heritage authority."],"mustNot":["Help loot, remove or trade artefacts or stones from a pyramid or its surroundings.","Encourage climbing or entering structures where the site authority forbids it.","Present speculative or fringe theories about the builders as established fact.","Treat sites that are sacred to living Indigenous communities as mere backdrops."],"requiresHuman":["Approving excavation, restoration or drone survey of a protected site."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["The pyramids are heritage of Indigenous peoples whose descendants live today.","Tourism brings income but also wear and damage to fragile structures."],"affectedParties":["Indigenous descendant communities","Visitors and guides","Archaeologists"]},"owners":{"steward":"The national heritage authority of the country where the site lies; some are World Heritage sites.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["National archaeological site registers","World Heritage List"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q109607777","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"pyramids in the Americas","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"Mesoamerican civilizations","type":"related","note":"from the Olmec to the Aztec"},{"target":"temple","type":"related","note":"platform for ritual"},{"target":"Egyptian pyramid","type":"related","note":"a tomb form"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.mesoamerican-pyramid","Wikidata: Q2270185 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2270185)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["Great Pyramid of Cholula volume: about 4.45 million m^3 - largest by volume","Pyramid of the Sun height: about 65 m","period: about 1000 BCE to 1521 CE range"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Stepped temple pyramid of Mesoamerica","Pyramid of the Sun, El Castillo, Great Pyramid of Cholula, Templo Mayor, Tikal temples","Egyptian pyramids are smooth-sided tombs; Andean huacas are different traditions","A stepped platform pyramid with a central stairway and summit temple."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain form and function","relay examples and construction","describe conservation","distinguish from other pyramids"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Erosion and tourism damage","Looting","Presenting contested interpretations as settled","Confusing with Egyptian pyramids"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Mexican and Central American heritage laws","UNESCO World Heritage listings such as Teotihuacan, Chichen Itza and Tikal","Archaeological conservation standards"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Not applicable; a category of monuments.","Olmec and Preclassic pyramids","Teotihuacan pyramids of the Sun and Moon","Maya pyramids such as Tikal, Palenque and Chichen Itza","Zapotec and Mixtec pyramids at Monte Alban and Mitla","Toltec pyramids at Tula","Aztec pyramids such as the Templo Mayor","the Great Pyramid of Cholula"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q2270185: Mesoamerican pyramid","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2270185","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Mesoamerican pyramids","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesoamerican_pyramids","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should the major pyramids be separate primary entries?","How should archaeological sources be linked?","How should astronomical alignment research be recorded?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q2270185/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q2270185/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T04:40:26Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:51:57+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}