Between farmers’ fields in Northeastern Louisiana lie the monumental earthworks of the site known as Poverty Point. The site consists of several large earthen mounds and six rows of C-shaped ridges forming a central Plaza. Archeologists believe that these structures were built by multiple groups of Indigenous Peoples between 1700 B.C. and 1100 B.C. who came to the site to trade, conduct ceremony, and form relationships with one another. While each mound likely took only a few months to build (with people of all ages participating), the whole site was formed over multiple generations. It has archeological significance as a counterexample to the previous assumption that massive, monumental architecture could only be created by sedentary, urban civilizations.
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