Louisiana’s cultural heritage dates back to approximately 10,000 B.C.
when man first entered this region. Since that time, many other Indian
groups have settled here. All of these groups, as well as the more
recent whites and blacks, have left evidence of their presence in the
archaeological record. The Anthropological Study series published by the
Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, Office of Cultural
Development provides a readable account of various activities of these
cultural groups.
Jon L. Gibson, a professional archaeologist with a long-standing
interest in the Poverty Point culture, is the author of “Poverty Point:
A Culture of the Lower Mississippi Valley,” the seventh in the series.
In this volume, Jon Gibson describes the Poverty Point culture—one of
the most spectacular episodes in Louisiana’s past. Few people realize
that the Poverty Point site, at 1000 B.C., was the commercial and
governmental center of its day. In its time, the Poverty Point site had
the largest, most elaborate earthworks anywhere in the western
hemisphere. No other Louisiana earthen constructions approached the size
of the Poverty Point site until the nineteenth century.
This volume tries to reconstruct from the archaeological remains the
life of these bygone people. It discusses where these people lived, what
they ate and how they made their tools. It also attempts to reconstruct
their social organization and government.
We trust the reader will enjoy this introduction to the fascinating
Poverty Point people.
Kathleen Byrd
_State Archaeologist_