Poverty Point World Heritage Site

The time was eight centuries after Egyptian laborers dragged huge stones across the desert to build the Great Pyramids, and before the great Mayan pyramids were constructed. The place was a site in what is now northeastern Louisiana. The people were a sophisticated group who left behind one of the most important archaeological sites in North America.

The Poverty Point inhabitants set for themselves an enormous task as they built a complex array of earthen mounds and ridges overlooking the Mississippi River flood plain. This accomplishment is particularly impressive for a pre-agricultural society. The central construction consists of six rows of concentric ridges, parts of which were as high as five feet. The ridges form a semi-ellipse or C-shape, divided into sections by at least four aisles. The diameter of the outermost ridge measures nearly three-quarters of a mile. It is thought that these ridges served as foundations for dwellings although little evidence of structures has been found. However, features and midden deposits uncovered during excavations support this hypothesis.