World Heritage Site designation
The physical creations left by a society that once existed at this site are one of 23 sites in the US to be designated a World Heritage Site; of those, it's one of 10 that have been designated for their cultural significance (e.g. Independence Hall); the others are listed for their natural significance (e.g. Mammoth Cave).
Here's what the park's museum has to say about the designation:
In other words, not only is the landscape that these folks created unusual, but the fact that this was not an agricultural society makes it unique.
These people were hunter-gatherers, and they continued to be for the entire time they lived here. They were not farmers and didn't become farmers while they lived here. Yet they stayed here for hundreds of years. Hundreds. Much longer than Europeans have lived on the North American continent so far. Yet these typically nomadic people stayed not just on the continent, but in one place only.
Sure, they traveled long distances for trade, but they always came back to this one place and the society that they created here. What nobody here at the museum said, but the implication is clear, is that they stayed because the richness of the ecosystem here allowed them to stay. They didn't have to travel hundreds of miles for game or fish or berries. All those things were here for them to take without traveling. Both the location and the culture that lived here were unique.
Views of the Poverty Point site
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| the site with surrounding waters and cooking fires burning |
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| this view is oriented sideways, south (on the left) to north |
In my opinion, the museum was not well organized. They had several different kinds of exhibits that each gave similar information. It looked like these exhibits were created at different times and, instead of integrating each new batch with what was already there, the museum just tacked the new batch onto what they had. I found what I consider to be an overview of the whole thing at the end of the displays, and I'll put it here in the beginning. Some of these photos aren't easy to read, though I did my best to edit them. The museum's lighting and, in some places, direct sunlight, made glares and shadows that were hard to adjust the camera to.
Where these people came from:
What they built:
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| aerial photo, annotated |
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| sources of stones found at Poverty Point |
Building for the stars:
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| Poverty Pointers as astronomers |
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| more astronomical theories |
Daily life at Poverty Point:
The museum had numerous exhibits showing the indigenous mammals and birds; their efforts at procuring enough food to feed the 1,000-3,000 folks that probably lived here; their skills at decorating objects, creating effigies, engraving stone, crafting tools.
For example, we know, because we've found the remains, that they used ovens and cooking balls to produce heat.
For the same reason, we know they used tools for hunting big game.
And having found the plummets, scientists didn't need much imagination to figure out how they were used in these rich Louisiana waters.
Poverty Point Culture's place in the historical timeline:
The museum had a graphic that was both clever and hard to understand, and also almost impossible for me to photograph because of glare. But what it said was that the Poverty Point site was used from about 1900 BC until 700 BC, with its heyday in the centuries between 1700 BC and 1100 BC.
For comparison:
the Old Kindom of Egypt existed 2664 - 2180 BC
India's Indus Valley Civilization dates 2500 - 1800 BC
the New Kingdom of Egypt was 1554 - 1075 BC
China's Chang Dynasty was 1523 - 1075 BC
Hinduism was established around 1000 BC
Homer wrote The Odyssey in 850 BC
South America's Olmec Indians thrived 800 - 400 BC
the first Olympic Games were held in 776 BC
In other words, Poverty Point flourished when other civilizations around the world also flourished. They allow North America's people to be something other than an afterthought of history.
What followed the Poverty Point culture:
And, on a less high-brow note, the James brothers and the Younger brothers stayed in the area for some years, using Poverty Point to hide out after some of their robberies.
I guess the remarkable site calls to unusual people.
Site Tour
The museum offers a brochure for a self-guided driving tour of the site, which I opted not to take, since the afternoon was wearing on and I needed to run errands before getting to the campground.
They have a short film that they'll show anyone who wants it, and I found it helpful and informative.
They emphasize the landscape engineering that these folks practiced that allowed them to thrive in this location for centuries. Scientists today are also impressed with their extensive trading network, and the lapidary expertise they developed to further their trading success.
I got almost as much information from the ranger at the admission desk as I did from anything in the museum - she was young and I figured if they had her staffing the pay-here counter she must not know much. Boy, was I wrong. I ran out of questions long before she ran out of answers. She told me they've found no burials anywhere on the property, which is remarkable when you think of how many people lived here for so many years. (The exceptions were graveyards for the family that lived and farmed here in the 1800s - one for the family and one for the enslaved people who worked for them.) They've found very few artifacts on the six mounds but hundreds on the ridges, so they've concluded the mounds were kept for ceremonies, while life was lived on the ridges.
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| although it's only 70' high now, Mound A (beyond the stop sign) was likely originally 100' tall, erosion by wind and rain having done its usual work |
The ranger told me that, although the Macon Bayou along the edge of the property hasn't changed course much, the Mississippi River was about 6 miles closer then than it is now - and it was periodic flooding from the river that kept the bayou stocked with fish.
When I asked why these folks ever moved on, she said that although Poverty Point itself didn't flood, they've found evidence that the surrounding areas did. They're guessing this would have caused enough disruption in the city's ability to feed itself that they had little choice but to go elsewhere.
They know some of the Poverty Point people moved to Florida, but they haven't tracked where others went. What they do know is this culture wasn't replicated anywhere else, which is again remarkable, considering how successful it was. Maybe it truly was unique to the location, and nowhere else could support such a life, especially for hunter-gatherers.
There was a great deal more here at the museum, but this gives the basics of the amazing civilization that flourished here long long ago.
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