Explorer's Guide

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Welcome to Poverty Point!

Built by Native Americans 3,400 years ago, Poverty Point is unlike any other. This was a place where people lived for 600 years and has led some to call it North America’s first city!Poverty Point is designed with C-shaped ridges and includes several mounds. Twenty-five generations of Poverty Point people built the ridges and mounds with dirt carried in strong baskets woven of cane strips. On the average, the baskets held about 50 pounds of dirt. It took approximately 100 million baskets of dirt to build Poverty Point.

Today you are visiting a very special and a very old World Heritage Site.

A World Heritage Site is a natural or man-made site, area, or structure recognized as being of outstanding international importance and therefore deserves special protection. The honor of becoming a World Heritage Site goes only to the most exceptional places around the world.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s

World Heritage Committee has designated the

MONUMENTAL EARTHWORKS OF POVERTY POINT

as a WORLD HERITAGE SITE

thereby placing it on a select list of protected areas around the world whose exceptional resources form a common inheritance for all humanity.

As a pre-agricultural mound complex dating from 1700 B.C. to 1100 B.C., this site ranks among the world’s premier archaeological properties due to its profound universal significance. It is the 22nd site in

the U.S. to be inscribed on the World Heritage List.

June 22, 2014

When and Where More than 3,000 years ago, Native Americans built the Poverty Point site. It has huge earthworks made from carefully shaped piles of soil. The Poverty Point earthworks sometimes are called mounds and ridges.

Ice cream

Invented

200 BC

Columbus

1492

Apollo Moon

Landing

1969 AD

UNESCO

Designated

Poverty Point as a

World Heritage

Site 2014 AD

Meso -

Indian

era

Early Neo Indian era Late Neo Indian

era

European era Today

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

2000BC 800AD 1600 AD 2000AD 2014 AD

King Tut

1332 -1323 BC First

Olympics

776 BC

Poverty Point

Establishment

1700 BC

Poverty Point was not named by the Indians who lived there. There was no written language to tell us so we do not know what the Poverty Point Indians called their home. The Poverty Point site was named after the Poverty Point plantation which occupied this same site many years later. The Poverty Point site is located in West Carroll Parish near the present day town of Epps, Louisiana. This is slightly northeast of Monroe, Louisiana.

Poverty Point

Monroe Shreveport

Baton Rouge

New

Orleans

Lake Charles

Here are some tools to help complete your official guide as you explore Poverty Point.

Checklist Check the space (like this √) when you find the answer, and write the

answer on the blank line.

When did the Poverty Point people build the earthworks?____________

How many mounds are at Poverty Point? __________

How many ridges are at Poverty Point? ___________

What did Poverty Point people use to build the mounds?__________

Did the Poverty Point people farm? How did they get their food? _________

Prehistoric Vocabulary Match-up 1. Atlatl ___ A. Human history in the period before recorded events.

2. Artifact ___ B. Any object made by human beings, past or present.

3. Plummet ___ C. Stone point at the end of a spear or dart.

4. Spearhead ___ D. Dried mud balls used for cooking.

5. Flint knapping ___ E. Process of removing flakes to shape a piece of stone.

6. Archaeology ____ F. A spear-thrower.

7. Prehistory ___ G. Study of historic people by analysis of their artifacts.

8. Excavation ___ H. Stone weight made out of hematite or magnetite.

9. PPO___ I. To unearth or expose by digging.

E X C A V A T I O N S

Y I B P X R C P O C P

D R U M P E P I C F E

Y G O L O E A H C R A

C J T T W P J P R L R

N K H E S C U E L T H

T W Z E M I E A M A E

C P I B D M H K N L A

B P P I X S U E R T D

Y L C V X T U L R A Z

T C A F I T R A P P Y

ARCHAEOLOGY

ARTIFACT

ATLATL

EXCAVATION

PLUMMET

PPO

PREHISTORY

SPEARHEAD

Poverty Point Word Search

Join the Dig!

How Do Archaeologists Uncover Artifacts?

An archaeologist is a person who studies historic people by the analysis of their artifacts. Archaeologists use special tools, and they take notes about their work. Being an archaeologist is like being a detective who solves old cases.

Archaeologists excavate artifacts from a designated site by making a grid. A grid is usually a series of squares made using string tied to stakes that form a checkerboard effect. The purpose of a grid is to identify the exact place the artifact was located.

Archaeologists use different tools to dig a square hole within the grid. Much of the work is done with shovels and trowels. Paint brushes and dental picks are used when small delicate objects are found. The dirt is removed and screened in a wooden box with a wire mesh bottom to make sure artifacts are not missed. The artifacts are then bagged and labeled. The final step is to refill the holes that were excavated.

Hunting and Gathering The Poverty Point people were hunter-gathers. That means that they got all of their food by hunting animals and fishing and by gathering nuts, berries, and fruits. They did not have agriculture and they certainly didn’t have grocery stores! They had to get all their food from the environment.

Now it is your turn to be a Poverty Point hunter-gatherer. Look at the pictures below. Circle the pictures where a hunter-gatherer might find food. List the food a hunter-gatherer might find under each picture.

Bayou/Swamps

_______________

_______________

_______________

_______________

Forests/Woodlands

_______________

_______________

_______________

_______________

Rivers

_______________

_______________

_______________

_______________

Trees /Bushes

________________

________________

________________

________________

Grocery Store

________________

________________

________________

________________

Earth Oven Cooking Good Job! You have found food. Now you need to cook it! The Poverty Point people had a special way of cooking. Instead of a campfire, these prehistoric people used an earth oven to cook their food. Build your earth oven by putting the steps of earth oven cooking in the correct order from 1 to 10.

___Wrap food in leaves or palmetto mats

___Dig a hole in the ground

___Add Firewood

___Cover pit with dirt

___Unwrap food and eat!

___Add PPOs (Poverty Point cooking objects)

___Start fire

___Let fire burn out

___Uncover pit

___Place wrapped food in pit

The Poverty Point people used four main varieties of cooking objects (PPOs). The PPOs were hand molded and hardened. The PPOs were heated up and used in food preparation. Choose the correct name for each PPO and label on the line below.

Cross Grooved

Cylindrical Grooved

Biconical Grooved

Melon Shaped

Tools at Poverty Point The Poverty Point people lived during the Stone Age. That means that they

made their tools out of stone instead of metal.

Find the correct name for each tool in the museum exhibits.

What am I?

I am a teardrop shaped weight that was probably used as a fishing net weight.

What am I? ___________________________

I am a chipped stone spear, dart, or arrow tip made by ancient people.

What am I?____________________________

I am a decorative pendant shaped in the form of an owl.

What am I?____________________________

I am a weight used to provide greater distance and velocity in hunting.

What am I? ___________________________

I am a cylindrical ornament probably used to decorate clothes.

What am I?____________________________ ©

There was no stone at Poverty Point when the Poverty Point people lived there. The people of Poverty Point had to trade in order to have stone to make their tools. Look at the trade map below and answer the following questions.

Where did hematite and magnetite come from?

________________________________

________________________________

What material came the farthest distance to reach Poverty Point?

_______________________________

_______________________________

There were no roads, highways, or cars during the Poverty Point time period. How did the Poverty Point people trade with other people so far away?

______________________________

______________________________

Stone at Poverty Point

Poverty Point Tool Matchups Draw a line connecting the Poverty Point tool to a modern tool used today.

Cooking Balls Drill

Plummet Knife

Celt Charcoal

Blade Fishing Sinker

Perforator Axe

Poverty Point Crossword Puzzle

Across 1. Ornamental or wearable art 3. Tiny small tools 5. Bartering of goods 6. A type of soil 9. State where Poverty Point is located 10. Person who studies human culture 11. Largest river near Poverty Point

Down 1. People who gather food from the land 2. A small ornamental clay figure 4. Bayou on the eastern edge of Poverty Point 7. Spear thrower 8. People who hunt birds and animals for food 11. A pile of earth

Hunters

Anthropologist

Mound

Microliths

Macon

Gatherers

Mississippi

Figurine

Gorgets

Trade

Louisiana

Clay

Atlatl

Then and Now The Mississippi River played an

important role in Louisiana history then just as it does now.

Name one way the Mississippi River benefited the people of Poverty Point then as it benefits people now.

ANSWER ______________________________

One reason the Poverty Point people settled at the Poverty Point site was the natural abundance of food available then, just as we have a natural abundance of food available now.

Name two types of food that the Poverty Point people ate then and we eat now.

ANSWER __________________ and ______________

Name one tool or object that the Poverty Point people used then and we use now.

ANSWER _________________________________

Question

Name one thing that the Poverty Point people did then that we do now.

To find the answer black out the boxes with odd numbers Read the letters that are left and you will know the answer.

ANSWER __________________________

M H P U O N W T

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

©

Draw It! Draw something in the box below that

describes your visit to Poverty Point.

The Poverty Point people carved many unusual and interesting designs on objects such

as plummets, vessels, and beads. Unscramble the words below to discover what

archaeologists named the three designs below.

1. NAMXOF 2. GONLTIAL 3. BRDI

________ ____________ ____________

Directions: Use the four square writing method to write a story starring one of the designs as your main character in the story.

Story Starter Based on Four-Square Writing

Carved Images at Poverty

Fox Man Long Tail Bird

Square One

Describe the character.

Is the character a boy or girl?

Describe the character’s personality.

Story Starter: Once upon a time there was a

fox named_____. He/she liked to_____.

Square Two

Describe where the character lives (example: under a bush).

What kind of trees are nearby.

What other objects are nearby?

Story Starter: ____ the Fox lived in a ____.

Nearby there was a _______.

Square Three

Give the character a problem. Make the problem something the character can solve. Example: The problem is the fox wanted to live with the children in the village as a pet, but the children were afraid of the fox. Could the fox solve the problem by rescuing the children from a stalking panther?

Square Four

Conclude your story with how the fox solved the problem. How were the children rescued? Example: Could the fox attack the panther? What happened when he attacked the panther? Use an exclamation sentence to end your story. The fox was such a hero that he became a legend known as the Fox Man!

Congratulations! You have finished your official report of your exploration of Poverty Point.

Write a letter telling your friends what you learned about Poverty Point.

Greetings from

Poverty Point

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Contributors Martin Pate, cover illustrations

Jenny Ellerbe, photographs

Jon Gibson

Clarence Webb

Brian Cockerham

Steve Schindler

Deborah Buco

One last question: Did you also discover that you like history?

Follow Louisiana Sate Parks and Poverty Point World Heritage Site on Facebook

and Twitter.

www.PovertyPoint.us