Poverty Point National Monument is a prehistoric earthwork constructed by the Poverty Point culture. The Poverty Point site is located in present-day northeastern Louisiana though evidence of the Poverty Point culture extends throughout much of the Southeastern Woodlands. The culture extended 100 miles (160 km) across the Mississippi Delta and south to the Gulf Coast. The site contains earthen ridges and mounds, built by indigenous people between 1700 and 1100 BC during the Late Archaic period in North America.
Map of the U.S. National Heritage Areas. Published by the National Park Service (NPS).
https://www.nps.gov/popo/index.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_Point
Poverty Point National Monument is a prehistoric earthwork constructed by the Poverty Point culture. The Poverty Point site is located in present-day northeastern Louisiana though evidence of the Poverty Point culture extends throughout much of the Southeastern Woodlands. The culture extended 100 miles (160 km) across the Mississippi Delta and south to the Gulf Coast. The site contains earthen ridges and mounds, built by indigenous people between 1700 and 1100 BC during the Late Archaic period in North America.
Now a nearly forgotten culture, Poverty Point at its peak 3,000 years ago was part of an enormous trading network that stretched for hundreds of miles across the continent. It was - and is - also an engineering marvel, the product of five million hours of labor. Explore the culture of a highly sophisticated people who left behind one of North America’s most important archeological sites.
By car, from Interstate 20, take the Delhi exit and travel north on LA 17, east on LA 134 and north on LA 577.
Poverty Point World Heritage Site
Located in northeastern Louisiana, Poverty Point National Monument can be visited in any season. This site, which contains some of the largest prehistoric earth works in North America, is managed by the state of Louisiana. These state park facilities are open to the public. Learn more on the Louisiana State Parks Poverty Point website. Please note that there are NO federal facilities!
Bird Mound
A grassy green mound.
A grassy green mound.
Bird Mound
Bird Mound - a grassy green mound.
Bird Mound - a grassy green mound.
Bird Mound
Bird Mound - a grassy green mound.
Bird Mound - a grassy green mound.
Dendrogeomorphological Analysis of Earthwork Stability at Poverty Point SHS, Louisiana
In August 2010, the trees were removed from the earthen mounds at Poverty Point State Historic Site in northeast Louisiana. It provided a unique opportunity to investigate the stability of the earthworks under different vegetation regimes.
LiDAR map of Poverty Point National Monument, with earthworks labeled.
Podcast 034: Earthwork Stability Research at Poverty Point
Derek Linn speaks with Dr. Diana Greenlee, adjunct assistant professor at the University of Louisiana at Monroe and station archaeologist at the Poverty Point National Monument. NCPTT awarded ULM a grant for a research project that uses dendrogeomorphology to investigate earthwork stability at Poverty Point.
Poverty Point State Historic Site. Map credit: Louisiana Office of State Parks.
Detection Dogs in Archeology Workshop 2023
The National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT), the Poverty Point World Heritage and State Historic Site, and the Friends of NCPTT, are hosting a three-day training workshop on human remains detection (HRD) dogs in archeological settings. The workshop will be held May 9 - 11, 2023, at the Poverty Point World Heritage Site in Pioneer, Louisiana
LASAR members. Left- Lisa Higgins and K9 Penny Lane. Right- Kirsten Watson and K9 Quest.
