Poverty Point

This article is about the US National Monument in the lower Mississippi valley; for the geographical feature in Massachusetts also called Poverty Point, see Fairhaven, Massachusetts.

Poverty Point National Monument
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
Location	West Carroll Parish, Louisiana, USA
Nearest city	Epps, Louisiana
Area	911 (3.68 km²)
Established	October 31, 1988
Governing body	State of Louisiana National Park Service

Poverty Point (French: Pointe de Pauvreté) is a prehistoric archeological site dating between 1650 – 700 BC in northeastern Louisiana, 15.5 miles (24.9 km) from the current Mississippi River on the edge of Maçon Ridge by the village of Epps in West Carroll Parish. The name Poverty Point also refers to inhabitants of similar sites nearby and to the Poverty Point culture. The name is derived from a plantation on which the site was discovered in 1873. At the time, it was believed that the site was a natural formation. In the 1950s, however, aerial photographs revealed the complexity and complete pattern of the man-made earthwork. The State of Louisiana protects the site as Poverty Point State Historic Site, which includes a museum and nature trails.

Earthwork's appearance

An aerial view reveals the circular pattern of ancient Indian earthworks at Poverty Point.

The core of the site measures approximately 500 acres (2.0 km²), while recent archaeological investigations have shown that the total occupation area extends for more than 3 miles along the river terrace. In the center of the site are a set of six concentric curved earthen ridges separated by flat corridors of earth. Dividing the ridges into three sections are two ramps that slope inwardly leading to Bayou Maçon. Each ridge is currently about three feet high, although it is believed that they were once five feet high. The approximated diameter of the outside ridge is three-quarters of a mile, while the innermost ridge’s diameter is about three-eights of a mile.

The central portion of the site consists of the concentric ridges and five earthen mounds. One (Mound A) is roughly T-shaped when viewed from above. A second mound is conical-shaped, and the remaining three are platform mounds which whould have supported wooden buildings. There is an additional mound located north of the main concentration of mounds, called the Motley Mound, while a mound located south of the site center is called Lower Jackson Mound. This brings the total possible mounds identified at the site to seven.

Mound A is located at the western edge of the site core, and is the largest mound at the site. The western half of this mound consists of an elongated cone measuring 69 ft (21 m) high. A 32 ft (9.8 m) platform is attached to the eastern edge of the cone. These portions of the mound are joined by a ramp-like feature. Mound A has been described as a flying bird effigy, and also as an "earth island" representing the cosmological center of the site.

At the southern edge of the site, the Motley Mound rises 51 ft (16 m). The conical mound is circular and reaches a height of 24.5 ft (7.5 m). The three platform mounds are much smaller than the other mounds. Lower Jackson mound is believed to be the oldest of all the earthworks at the site.

Earthwork's creation

Recent excavations and testing at the Poverty Point site by archaeologists from Washington University in St. Louis, Murray State University, and Tulane University have shown that the site inhabitants undertook a massive program of earthmoving and reshaping the natural landscape. This effort included leveling natural ridges, filling undulating gullies, and the construction of the mounds and ridges that now form the most visible aspect of the site. The total volume of earth moved for the Poverty Point earthworks consists of between 750,000 and 1,000,000 cubic meters.

Although it was previously thought that construction of the earthen mounds at Poverty Point occurred gradually over hundreds of years, recent research has shown that Mound A was in fact constructed quickly, probably over a period of less than three months. Prior to construction, the vegetation covering the site was burned. According to radiocarbon analysis, this burning occurred between approximately 1450 and 1250 BC. The area was then immediately covered with a cap of silt, followed immediately by the main construction effort. There are no signs of construction phases or weathering of the mound fill even at microscopic levels, indicating construction occurred in a single massive effort over a very short period. In total volume, Mound A is made up of approximately 238,000 cubic meters of fill, making it the second largest earthen mound (by volume) in eastern North America.

In 2009, the University of Louisiana at Monroe and Mississippi State University at Starkville began digging on the plaza in the center of the rings to search for the cause of small variations in the magnetic field, that were found since 2000 by Magnetic gradiometry surveys. The data indicate the presence of earthen circles 80-to-160 feet wide beneath the surface of the ground.

Activities at Late Archaic Poverty Point

Some in the archeological community believe that the site at Poverty Point was mostly used as a ceremonial center where people congregated at various times of the year, not as a city. Reasons that could have drawn individuals together during certain times of the year could be social or supernatural forces. Marriages, trade, kin ties and alliances were also all important reasons for gathering.

Clay cooking balls found at the Poverty Point site

The act of building and the presence of the mounds themselves created an enhanced “sense of community”. There is evidence of “hearths, postmolds, and other features” found along the ridges, indicating the presence of people. Also found have been incredibly large volumes of clay balls used for the indirect heating of food, called "Poverty Point Objects,". Their presence would indicate a high volume of on-site food production, thereby indicating a year-round population. Artifacts that have been recovered in archeological excavations from Poverty Point typically are imported items. There appears to be a disproportional amount of this imported material at the site, consisting of projectile points and microliths, that has been determined to have originated in the Ouachita and Ozark Mountains and in the Ohio and Tennessee River valleys.

There is also evidence of soapstone from the Appalachians of Alabama and Georgia. There are also copper and galena artifacts that indicate trade with the prehistoric copper producing region of the Great Lakes. Foreign artifacts in such large amounts could indicate that they were gifts used for ritual and social purposes by the gathering people. These gifts were left behind periodically, and over the several generations of people using the site, slowly accumulated into the hundreds of intricate artifacts discovered during archeological excavations. Their presence also indicates that the people at Poverty Point were in contact with a wide range of other groups.

map of the site

The site today

The current site is a public park run by the state of Louisiana.

Tourist information

Currently the site is a park run by the state of Louisiana. It is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. except for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. The cost of the entrance is $2 a person; seniors over the age of 62 and children 12 and under are free.

Recent history

“Poverty Point is the largest and most complex Late Archaic earthwork occupation and ceremonial site yet found in North America”. This is part of the Statement of Significance during June 13, 1962 for the placement of the site in the National Historic Landmark Program. On October 31, 1988 Poverty Point National Monument was created by Congress, who expected the donation of the land for the National Park Service. The land, however, never exchanged ownership from Louisiana to the national government; despite this fact, the site is counted amongst the 391 units of the National Park System. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.

Protection

The site is occasionally monitored by the National Historic Landmark program, which is concerned about the erosion of the mounds. Louisiana is working with the Vicksburg Corps of Engineers to develop a plan for erosion control. It was designated a National Historic Landmark on June 13, 1962.

See also

• Watson Brake
• Mound Builder
• Native Americans in the United States
• Archaic period in the Americas

References

• [1]
• [2]
• [3]
• Milner, George R. (2004). "The Moundbuilders: Ancient Peoples of Eastern North America" London: Thames & Hudson Ltd.

External links

• Poverty Point by Louisiana Archaeological Survey
• National Park Service - Poverty Point
• The Archaeology Channel – Poverty Point Earthworks