The Ancient Mounds of Poverty Point: Place of Rings

292 Pages·2001·18.22 MB·English

by  Jon L. Gibson

The
Ancient Mounds of Poverty Point
Jon L. Gibson
The Ancient Mounds of Poverty Point
Native Peoples, Cultures, and Places of the Southeastern United States
UWF UNIVERSITYPRESS
FSU FAMU UNF OF
TAETS UF UCF FLOARDI
U USF
NIVERSITYSYSTEM FGCUFIFUAU
Florida A&M University, Tallahassee
Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton
Florida Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers
Florida International University, Miami
Florida State University, Tallahassee
University of Central Florida, Orlando
University of Florida, Gainesville
University of North Florida, Jacksonville
University of South Florida, Tampa
University of West Florida, Pensacola
Native Peoples, Cultures, and Places of the Southeastern United States
Edited by Jerald T. Milanich
The Apalachee Indians and Mission San Luis,
by John H. Hann and Bonnie G. McEwan (1998)
Florida’s Indians from Ancient Times to the Present, by Jerald T. Milanich (1998)
Unconquered People: Florida’s Seminole and Miccosukee Indians,
by Brent Richards Weisman (1999)
The Ancient Mounds of Poverty Point: Place of Rings, by Jon L. Gibson (2000)
The Ancient Mounds of Poverty Point
place of rings
Jon L. Gibson
University Press of Florida
Gainesville ·Tallahassee ·Tampa ·Boca Raton
Pensacola ·Orlando ·Miami ·Jacksonville ·Ft. Myers
Copyright 2000 by the Board of Regents of the State of Florida
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
All rights reserved
05 04 03 02 01 00 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The ancient mounds of Poverty Point: place of rings / Jon L. Gibson
p. cm.—(Native peoples, cultures, and places of the southeastern United States)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-8130-1833-1 (alk. paper)
1. Poverty Point State Park (La.). 2. Poverty Point culture. I. Title. II. Series.
E99.P84 G5 2001
976.3'83—dc21 00-061518
The University Press of Florida is the scholarly publishing agency for the State University
System of Florida, comprising Florida A & M University, Florida Atlantic University,
Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida International University, Florida State University,
University of Central Florida, University of Florida, University of North Florida,
University of South Florida, and University of West Florida.
University Press of Florida
15 Northwest 15th Street
Gainesville, FL 32611–2079
http://www.upf.com
Contents
Foreword by Jerald T. Milanich, Series Editor vii
Acknowledgments ix
Aliens, Atlanteans, and American Indians 1
1. Conceptual Matters 9
2. From Then Until Now 15
3. Roots 42
4. Natural Environment 66
5. Earthworks 79
6. Gear and Appliances 111
7. Fishing, Hunting and Gathering, and Table Fare 158
8. Exchange 170
9. Stone and Earth Symbolism 182
10. Community Core–Periphery Relationships 194
11. Political Economy 207
12. Poverty Point Development 216
13. Neighbors and Distant Acquaintances 232
14. In Retrospect 266
Glossary 275
For Further Reading 279

Foreword
For more than a century, the Poverty Point archaeological site in Louisi-
ana has drawn the attention of visitors eager to unlock its secrets. With its
six huge concentric earthen rings and a like number of mounds, Poverty
Point is unique. There are no similar sites anywhere. Who built these cu-
rious earthworks, and what exactly are they? When were they built, and
what activities occurred at the “Place of Rings”?
In this popularly written study, author and archaeologist Jon Gibson,
who has spent a lifetime investigating Poverty Point, provides the first
book-length overview of the site, relating how it came to be and what it
represents. He also describes and explains the array of extraordinary arti-
facts found there, some made of stone brought from more than a thou-
sand miles away.
Gibson’s cogent explanations of the site’s economic, social, cultural,
and ceremonial milieus are intriguing and fun to read. He takes us back
and forth in time, allowing us to experience the site as the people who
lived there 3,500 years ago did. Drawing on the latest archaeological find-
ings, The Ancient Mounds of Poverty Point: Place of Rings paints an en-
gaging picture of this American Indian site and the pre-Columbian world
of which it was a part.
An extraordinary example of our Native American heritage, Poverty
Point today is a Louisiana State Commemorative Area open to the public.
I hope Jon Gibson’s colorful account will persuade readers to visit Poverty
Point and its remarkable earthworks, a monument that has attracted
people for nearly four millennia.
Jerald T. Milanich,
Series Editor

Acknowledgments
Books are invariably born in debt, and this one is no exception. Dennis
LaBatt, Poverty Point Commemorative Area manager, has my unceasing
gratitude. His friendship and help over the years have been major reasons
why Poverty Point is such a special place to me. Dennis has shared re-
search materials, reported sites, interceded with landowners and collec-
tors on my behalf, seen to my fieldwork needs untiringly, and spoiled me
so badly that I have become nearly unfit for fieldwork anywhere else. He
facilitated access to museum collections so photographs could be made;
when I wanted more pieces to illustrate he arranged for loans of private
collections. Without Dennis, this book would be considerably thinner and
plainer and my Poverty Point experience much poorer.
My friend and colleague David Griffing, who helps Dennis run the
Commemorative Area, contributed directly to this book by sharing his
firsthand knowledge of Maçon Ridge archaeology, especially from places
south of Poverty Point. He, too, enabled photographic access to private
collections.
David Hurst Thomas, curator at the American Museum of Natural
History and fellow traveler along old Paleoindian paths on the Llano
Estacado, furnished copies of James Ford’s Poverty Point excavation and
analysis notes and related correspondence. He also provided photos from
Ford’s 1955 excavations. Robert Connolly, with the Mississippi Depart-
ment of Transportation and formerly with Poverty Point, provided copies
of Jacob Walter’s journal, Clarence Moore’s field notes, and other useful
materials.
Bo Beringher, communications director of the Louisiana Office of State
Parks, permitted photography of state-owned museum pieces. Charles