When constructing, more material is required at the bottom to sustain the combined burden of all the materials above. Each time you insert an additional vertical layer, the total force on every point below that layer multiplies.
In the case of
the pyramid, if its base keeps on increasing, it can be built up without
end. But this becomes impractical very quickly, since the base will take up
too much space.
As for regular buildings made of bricks and stones, you will have to continue thickening the lower walls when you construct the upper floors. After you arrive at a particular height, this will not work. There would be very little room in the lower floors, therefore defeating the purpose of creating a tall building.
Therefore, people could not form buildings with over ten stories using this skill.
However, in the late 1800s, several technological advancements made the building of skyscrapers feasible. New manufacturing methods made it possible to create long metal beams. Not only could the narrow and light metal beams uphold a lot more dead weight than the solid brick walls of older buildings, it could support more live load too, while taking up a tiny portion of the space. This foundation of metal beams and columns distributes the load into the surrounding ground material, helping the structure to maintain balance.
The mass production of iron and steel beams acted as a huge progression in expanding the metropolis upwards, towards the sky.