Mel Gibson on history: what the evidence says · JRE #2254
SUBJECT: HISTORY
The short answer
Gibson claims a pyramid (La Danta at El Mirador, Guatemala) is literally the biggest pyramid in the world, bigger than any in Egypt. La Danta is genuinely enormous by volume, estimated at roughly 2.8 million cubic meters, which does exceed the Great Pyramid of Giza's estimated 2.6 million cubic meters, and it is the largest pyramid built by the Maya civilization.
Not a true/false call. Every claim is logged with its sources; read the exhibits below.
There's 4 by 8 foot bricks. That's not that's man made. And it is literally the biggest pyramid in the world. It's bigger than the ones in Egypt, and it's in Guatemala.
What the evidence says 01 / RECORD
Gibson claims La Danta, a Preclassic Maya pyramid at El Mirador in Guatemala, is "literally the biggest pyramid in the world" and larger than any pyramid in Egypt. La Danta is genuinely enormous by volume, estimated at roughly 2.8 million cubic meters, which does exceed the Great Pyramid of Giza's estimated 2.6 million cubic meters, and it is the largest pyramid built by the Maya civilization. However, the claim that it is unqualifiedly the largest pyramid in the world is not well supported: the Great Pyramid of Cholula in Puebla, Mexico, is generally cited by researchers and reference works (including Guinness World Records) as the largest pyramid in the world by volume, at roughly 4.45 million cubic meters, and by base area, nearly twice the footprint of Giza's Great Pyramid. Peer-reviewed lidar survey research has also identified other Mesoamerican monumental constructions, such as Aguada Fénix in Tabasco, Mexico, with a material volume comparable to or exceeding La Danta's, further complicating any single "biggest pyramid in the world" title. La Danta is best described as among the largest pyramids in the world and the largest built by the Maya specifically, not the single largest pyramid on Earth or larger than every structure in Egypt.