Poverty Point

Poverty Point

United States · Louisiana

SettlementUnknownUNESCO · 2014
Approximate period1,700 BCE — 1,100 BCELate Archaic Period See on the map ↓

In brief

Poverty Point is a large settlement and ceremonial site created by communities of hunters, fishers, and gatherers. Its monumental earthworks, investigated through excavations, are considered among North America's early engineering achievements.

What was found?

  • 1Monumental earthen mounds

    Mounds built by moving and shaping large quantities of earth. They show that a society of hunters, fishers, and gatherers carried out large-scale construction.

  • 2Six concentric earthen ridges

    Six semi-elliptical earthen ridges are separated by shallow depressions. This arrangement shows that the settlement was shaped according to a shared plan.

  • 3Central plaza

    A large open space laid out together with the earthen ridges and mounds. It is an important spatial element for understanding the settlement's residential and ceremonial use.

  • 4Stone tools

    Stone tools used for cutting, chopping, and pounding plant foods have been found. The stone raw materials came from distant regions, documenting extensive exchange connections.

  • 5Fired-earth cooking objects

    These hand-shaped silt objects were heated and placed around food in earth ovens. Experimental studies showed that different shapes could affect cooking temperature and duration.

What does it point to?

Poverty Point indicates that people living by hunting, fishing, and gathering could create monumental structures and extensive exchange connections. The cooking objects reveal advanced practical knowledge of using heat in everyday food preparation.

What did it teach us?

  1. Showed that monumental earthworks could be built without an agricultural society.
  2. Documented long-distance exchange networks through the circulation of stone raw materials.
  3. Experimental archaeology helped explain the role of fired-earth objects in cooking food.

Images

Mound A at Poverty Point
https://www.flickr.com/photos/15308454@N06/ Kniemla · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Record

Culture
Poverty Point
Coordinates
32.6369°, -91.4064°

Sources

  1. whc.unesco.org
  2. crt.state.la.us
  3. crt.state.la.us

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