Monumental Earthworks of Poverty Point

www.povertypoint.us whc.unesco.org

Centuries ago, American Indians were building earthen monuments in north Louisiana at Poverty Point. Hand by hand and basketful by basketful, men and women shaped nearly 2 million cubic yards of soil into stunning landscapes. The result was a massive 72-foot-tall mound, enormous concentric half-circles and related earthworks that dwarfed every other earthen monument site for 2,200 years. The Poverty Point complex is recognized internationally not just because of its scale, the integration of the earthworks and the extent to which the complex is intact, but because it was built by hunter-fisher-gatherers.