This is Poverty Point

This is Poverty Point. . , The Poverty Point earthwork complex is a monumental achievement worthy of celebration. It was built and occupied from about 1700 BC to 1100 BC. This site is often considered to be the "New York City" of its day because it appears to have been so much more elaborate and sophisticated than anything else that was happening in North America at that time. , This created landscape is unique in the world, there is no other site quite like it. The original design included five earthen mounds (another culture added a sixth mound, Mound D, about 1,800 years after Poverty Point was abandoned), six concentric C-shaped ridges, and a huge inner plaza. Archaeologists estimate that preparing the landscape and building the earthworks may have required moving, basketload by basketload, about 100 million 50-1b. basketloads of soil. , To experience the earthworks, you can enjoy a ranger-guided tram tour, a self-guided driving tour, or a self-guided hiking trail that winds through the earthworks. The on-site archaeologist recommends taking a hike! , Part of what makes Poverty Point so special is the fact that people who made their living through hunting, fishing, and gathering wild foods built these earthworks. For many years, archaeologists did not think that hunter-gatherers could achieve such an amazing accomplishment.The diverse habitats of the Mississippi River floodplain and Macon Ridge provided a variety of foods and other necessary resources. The only material that was not readily available here was stone, a critical resource for people who relied on stone tools. They developed a vast trading network to fulfill that need.