History & Artifacts of Poverty Point

Most of the animal remains found on-site were from locally caught fish in this hunter-gatherer community. © Martin Pate

People moved soil by hand, basketload by basketload, without the assistance of domesticated animals or wheeled carts.

The People

The people who lived at Poverty Point left behind no written records of their daily lives. Yet through the evidence they did leave, we know that this remarkable site served as both a ceremonial center—home to hundreds, perhaps thousands—and a thriving trade hub unlike any other in North America at the time.

Archaeologists have pieced together the story of these people through the materials they left behind—artifacts and archaeological features—and through what they did not leave behind, such as burials and traces of cultivated crops.

Burial mounds were common throughout the southeastern and central United States, but Poverty Point contains no human remains. This absence suggests that the monumental earthworks, painstakingly built by hand, served purposes other than burial.

Equally curious is the lack of domesticated plant remains. Instead, archaeologists have found evidence of nuts, persimmons and grapes—foods naturally abundant in the Lower Mississippi Valley, one of North America’s most fertile regions. Combined with fish, deer and other wild game, these resources provided more than enough for survival. Foraging, it seems, was at the heart of Poverty Point life.

So was trade, with Poverty Point once at the center of a vast exchange network. More than 78 tons of rocks and minerals—materials essential for crafting tools, weapons and ceremonial objects but none native to the area—were brought from as far as 800 miles away. Such extensive trade would have required the cooperation of distant travelers or local traders navigating rivers by boat.

We also gain insight into Poverty Point society by studying where its people lived. Overlooking a bayou, the community likely depended heavily on the river. Animal and plant remains confirm a diet rich in fish, alligators, frogs, turtles, deer, hickory nuts, fruits and other wild foods.

The reasons Poverty Point was eventually abandoned remain a mystery. Around 700 A.D., another American Indian group briefly reoccupied a small portion of the site, but for the most part, it lay silent until its rediscovery in the 1800s.

Nothing else like Poverty Point’s six C-shaped earthen ridges existed in the ancient world.

Mound A is the largest Poverty Point mound at 72 feet tall, 710 feet long and 660 feet wide.

Built around 1700 B.C., Mound B is a small, conical mound 21 feet tall and 180 feet in diameter.

Mound C is the only mound built in the plaza during Poverty Point times.

Mound D was built by a group of American Indians 2,000 years after the people of Poverty Point.

Mound E is a low, flat-topped mound reaching 13 feet tall, 360 feet wide and 30 feet long.

Mound F was only recently discovered and is the last Poverty Point-aged mound built by American Indians on the site.

White cylinders give visitors an idea of how large the post circles in the plaza were.

The Mounds

Poverty Point’s centerpiece is its collection of earthworks built during a 600-year period, or what today would be considered 25 generations. Its concentric half-circles, measuring 4 to 6 feet high in places, have an outside diameter of ¾ of a mile apart. Mound A, commonly known as the Bird Mound, is one of the largest in North America. Everything about the earthen structures at Poverty Point suggest a concerted effort to build a massive residential and ceremonial center that had no rival in terms of scale and size.

There are a few uses for mounds. Some are used for burials. Some are used as platforms to elevate special buildings or temples. Others, such as shell mounds in Florida, are ancient trash heaps. Yet Poverty Point stands apart. With no human remains or heaps of shells, archaeologists assume that these were symbols of power and wealth.

People lived on the earthen ridges. Excavations have revealed post molds, distinctive stains in the soil caused by now-decomposed wooden posts, which are probably the remains of houses. At Poverty Point, dwellings were wattle and daub constructions, meaning the walls were formed by a woven framework of cane and sticks that was covered in mud.

The scale of construction here makes Poverty Point stand apart for another reason. During this era of human history known as the Late Archaic, most people lived in small groups. However, due to the size of the earthen ridges — the area at Poverty Point where people lived — there may have been hundreds or even thousands of residents.

And here’s another mystery: In the 43-acre plaza, defined by the earthen C-shaped ridges, are the remains of massive post holes that were set in circles standing up to 213 feet in diameter. The plaza would have made for an ideal meeting place, and some have speculated that it was used for astronomical observation.

Researchers have found more than 8,000 intact projectile points at Poverty Point.

Archaeologists have found more than 100 small clay figurines at Poverty Point.

Archaeologists have found many flat stone artifacts believed to be atlatl weights.

Polished bone awls and needles are among the tools found at Poverty Point.

Many different kinds of beads and pendants have been found at Poverty Point.

The Artifacts

Much of what we know about Poverty Point comes from its diverse artifact collection. Objects made of wood or other organic materials such as canoes or fishnets — which could have told us about what these people traded and used daily — unfortunately decomposed long ago, but thankfully, there are plenty of stone and clay artifacts remaining to help tell the story. Think of Poverty Point decorations and styles as a fingerprint. The intricate owl designs carved from red jasper stone and the ceramic human figurines are particular to this place. This tells us that art was important to these ancient people, and the images may have held spiritual significance.

Likewise, think of the stone found at Poverty Point as a roadmap. Rocks and minerals came to the site from as far away as present-day Iowa and as far east as the Appalachians. Water tied these routes together. Like our modern highway system, boat travel along the Mississippi River and its tributaries facilitated the movement of people and materials.

Pottery is not abundant at Poverty Point, but its people were among the first in the Lower Mississippi Valley to make earthen vessels. They also made many other objects of fired earth or clay, such as Poverty Point Objects and figurines. When visiting the site, you will see numerous examples of fired clay used thousands of years ago.

However, stone was more popular than clay for making vessels. And not just any stone. Soapstone from Georgia and Alabama quarries was frequently used, and some pieces were decorated with bird and panther designs. The soapstone bowls were highly valued, and at Poverty Point, you can find examples of broken stone bowls that were repaired or reused — and others that were turned into pendants and beads. Sandstone was also used to form vessels.

Before leaving the museum, be sure to read about and see examples of what are known simply as Poverty Point Objects, the most numerous of all artifacts found at the site. These are small, hand-formed clay balls that were used to cook food. The PPOs were placed in a hole, and a fire was built to heat them. When the fire died down, raw meat or fish was added, and the hole was covered with dirt, cooking the meat. Other native cultures used rocks for the same purpose, but at Poverty Point — where stones were costly to obtain — prehistoric chefs found an ingenious workaround.