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Poverty Point World Heritage Site A Treasure For Louisiana

Courtesy: Poverty Point , Louisiana State Parks

LOUISIANA'S ANCIENT CIVILIZATION - When you think of ancient civilizations, perhaps the first thing that comes to mind are the Egyptians and the Great Pyramids. But once upon a time in the Northeast corner of Louisiana, there was a place called Poverty Point -- an massive Ancient City believed to have been built at a time around the construction of the Great Pyramids in Egypt. And Poverty Point is no less an archaeological with equal significance.  Mark Brink, Jr. is an interpretive ranger for Poverty Point, a Louisiana State Park and UNESCO designated World Heritage Site.  He says Poverty Point is not only the oldest known historic city in Louisiana, but the largest, most complex settlement of its kind in North America. 

Credit Courtesy: Chuck Smith / Red River Radio News
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Courtesy: Chuck Smith / Red River Radio News
Mark Brink, Jr - Interpretive Ranger, Poverty Point State Park

This site was used roughly 3500 years ago between 1700 and 1100 BC," explains Mark Brink and interpretive ranger for Poverty Point. "So that's roughly the same time of the New Kingdom of Egypt. And this is the first time that hunters and gatherers settled down in a single place year 'round for hundreds of years living in a massive community, the largest of its kind and built the largest earthworks on the continent."

Poverty Point's layout consists of several C-Shaped parallel ridges that surround a flatter area or main plaza. There are large earth mounds arranged around the area with the largest central mound rising some 72 feet in height and about 700 feet wide. This mound was man-made and it's estimated to have taken thousands of people to carry and pile the dirt on this site indicating an organized and complex civilization similar to other ancient cultures in Mexico and Central America like the ancient Mayans or the even the Aztecs.

Credit Courtesy: By Maximilian Dörrbecker (Chumwa) - This map is the result from a map request to the Kartenwünsche in the Kartenwerkstatt. You can make a request for a new map to us as well., CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3876925
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Courtesy: By Maximilian Dörrbecker (Chumwa) - This map is the result from a map request to the Kartenwünsche in the Kartenwerkstatt. You can make a request for a new map to us as well., CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3876925

Poverty Point Celebrated it's 5th anniversary as a UNESCO designated World Heritage Site one of 23 such sites in the United States. It is a state park that you can visit, for more information: 
https://www.crt.state.la.us/louisiana-state-parks/historic-sites/poverty-point-state-historic-site/

Chuck Smith brings more than 30 years' broadcast and media experience to Red River Radio. He began his career as a radio news reporter and transitioned to television journalism and newsmagazine production. Chuck studied mass communications at Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia and motion picture / television production at the University of California at Los Angeles. He has also taught writing for television at York Technical College in Rock Hill, South Carolina and video / film production at Centenary College of Louisiana, Shreveport.