POVERTY POINT WORLD HERITAGE SITE EXPEDITION!

When I first saw the logo for Poverty Point World Heritage Site ( www.lastateparks.com/historic-sites/poverty-point-world-heritage-site ), I thought the semicircular designs indicated there was WIFI throughout the site.  That shows just how much I had to learn!

 

However, the semicircles actually are a graphic rendering of how the site was arranged at the time it was in use by humans.  The landscape had been modified to make elevated levees, where the inhabitants could sleep, and build their small fires (represented by wisps of smoke in sketch.)  An artist's rendering of how the sight may have looked is shown below: 

I had never heard the term "World Heritage Site", until my son used it to justify a trip he was taking in the 1990's, with an entourage from the University of Arkansas Architecture Department, to a country overseas, I had never heard of either!  So I had to Google both the phrase "World Heritage Site", and the name of the country to find out where he was headed!  The placard below explains that Poverty Point was declared a World Heritage Site in 2014, indicating it was one of the world's extraordinary cultural properties.  At the time it was built, between 1700 and 1100 BC, it was the largest prehistoric mound complex in North America. 

The Visitor Center/Museum had a timeline display, with the Poverty Point timeline indicated in red, in photo below:

The timeline shows that the Poverty Point culture existed hundreds of years before the birth of Christ.  Seeing on the timeline that the Italian volcano Vesuvius destroyed Pompeii, in the year 79 AD, brought to mind a visit my father and I had to the Pompeii site, back in the 1960's.  If I had seen such a timeline on my visit to Italy, I think I could have had better results in my college world history classes!

 

 

I found it interesting that this poem was framed and behind glass, in the museum.  It quotes a phrase from the book of Ephesians in the New Testament.  The phrase says, "This is a great mystery...."

The park has regularly scheduled group tours of the grounds, and this is a photo of the very knowledgeable driver/guide that our group had:

 

The shuttle was very helpful, as the grounds are expansive!

This photo shows some of our group, as well as other park visitors, who just happened to be on the same shuttle.

One of the stops on the shuttle tour is "Mound A".  It is one of the biggest aboriginal earthworks in North America, and it is the largest built by hunter-fisher-gatherers.  I did not know until researching this article, that there is a discipline called "landscape archaeology", and I think this would classify as a part of the subject matter.  There are estimated that the inhabitants would                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      have had to carry about 1. million loads, to construct this giant mound. 

This is a photograph of the board walk visitors can use to climb to the top of the mound:

Several members of the archaeology group that made the trip to Louisiana are also members of the Arkansas Master Naturalists, as evidenced by the tee-shirts Lori and I are wearing.  We are both thankful that the arduous walk to the top was completed, and know the descent will be much easier!

The

short time of exertion we had, certainly does not compare to the amount of exertion it took to carry 50 pound baskets of soil to the top of this mound!  Plus, the info below shows it would have required these humans to carry more than 30 MILLION BASKET LOADS OF EARTH! Whew!!

lArchaeology is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation, and analysis of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes.  Poverty Point is an active, on-going archaeological study, as only a small proportion of its expansive area has been scientifically studied. 

A fun part of any visit to Poverty Point World Heritage Site, is seeing a demonstration of the use of a hunting tool used by this ancient culture, called an Atlatl.  The photo below shows a staff member aiming an atlatl at the round bale of hay in the distance. 

We all had the opportunity to try throwing the atlatl, which led to some very funny videos that we looked at later!

Everyone in our group was in agreement, that obesity would not have been a problem, if we had been the ones in charge of harvesting a wild animal for food, using the Atlatl!  The staff member told us that he has disciplined himself to practice hitting the target, otherwise, his skill diminishes.  For the native cultures that relied on the atlatl, this would mean no animal to harvest.  The situation seemed to be a good visual aid for one of my First Place 4 Health ( www.FirstPlace4Health.com ) memory verses that says, "No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening--it's painful!  But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way."  Hebrews 12:11

The site has a mowed path that leads to the bayou a few hundred yards away.

Another body of water, called the Bayou Macon, is very close to the Visitor Center.

Inside the museum is a display of hundreds of spear points.  They are of particular interest because the type of stone they are made from indicates they came from areas as far away as 700 miles!  There is very little naturally-occuring stone or rocks in the Poverty Point site, so it had to be "imported"!!

A few miles away from the Poverty Point World Heritage Site, is the Poverty Point Reservoir State Park. (www.LaStateParks.com/parks-preserves ) Our group rented lovely cabins that were over the water, and we observed some guests who were actually fishing from the back decks of their cabin!  Also, the decks are designed so that a boat can be moored adjacent to one's cabin!  In addition to the cabins over the water, there are cabins that are totally land-based. 

Notice the lowered deck beside the porch, for easy access to a moored boat. 

Our group enjoyed gathering at Mark and Laurie's cabin in the evening, to visit and watch the sun go down over the water. 

Mark and Lori Shockley are the guiding duo for our group, and maintain the Facebook page (  www.Facebook.com ) for the Three Rivers Chapter of the Arkansas Archaeological Society.  Mark is the President, and his wife, Lori, is the Secretary-Treasurer.  All of us were very thankful for their leadership of the chapter, and especially for their arranging and coordinating the group trip to Louisiana!

This expedition with Mark, Lori, and the other participants gave me "MILES OF SMILES"!!  Tricia