Poverty Point Site Plan

Veronika Kalugina

ARC 3033-01: History of Architecture in US

Project 1

February 3, 2023

1. Jon L. Gibson. 2020. Poverty Point Anthropological Study No.7. (Project Gutenberg EBook),
Figure 4
 The site plan image of the Poverty Point gives us important information that can

help us understand the values of Native American people and the relationship between

their culture and nature. The analysis of the surrounding landscape, terrain features,

and the developments of the site will provide us with some essential information for a

better understanding of the cultural values of indigenous people of early settlements of

ca. 1700 – 1100 BCE.

From the first glance at the site map, we can see the settlement was organized

along the Bayou Macon River. The complex is located on the higher elevation ground,

along an escarpment, that separates it from the river, and at the same time protects it

from flooding. Access to fresh water was an essential element in everyday life for the

settlers. For hunter-gatherers, fishing, hunting, cooking, and other community needs

depended on close river proximity.

From the image of the site plan, we can see the anthropogenic landscape

developments that were intentional and most likely served a specific public purpose.

The complex was organized to serve as the public architecture for the community,

possibly a place for rituals, and served as a cultural and intellectual center for many

Native American communities where thousands of people would come together. Easy

river access provided transportation for the travelling communities and transport of

goods, where "people and resources came to Poverty Point from Hundreds of miles
2
away, as far north as the Great Lakes and from the Gulf of Mexico to the south".

The complex was organized in a meaningful way, where earthworks, mounts, and

ridges were integrated into the landscape and had a specific purpose within the

2. Graeber, David and D., Wengrow. 2021. The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity.
(New York, Farrar, Straus and Giroux), 142-143
community. From looking at the map, we can say that each one of the earthworks varies

in size and shape, which could mean that each one of them served its own purpose and

meaning for the community. The site also suggests advanced mathematical knowledge,

geometry, and possibly other sciences to be able to iterate earth in such a precise

manner: move a large amount of the ground using men's labor, and repeat the same
2
earthworks in other places as well.

We can read the large settlement size from the site plan as well, where Mount

Motley and Lower Jackson were placed far apart, meaning people used and occupied

the entire site. "The Dawn of Everything" also mentions the significant size of the

Poverty Point Settlement: "...extended over 200 hectares, flanked by two enormous

earthen mounds (the so-called Motley and Lower Jackson Mounds) which lie

respectively north and south", comparing it to other cities or settlements across the

globe around the same time, they would be only a portion of the size of the Poverty

Point. 2

The analysis of the site plan image of Poverty Point was helpful to understand the

culture of Native Americans and their way of living. Because of sites like Poverty Point,

we are able to gather at least some knowledge of the way indigenous people lived and

what they valued. Poverty Point was a cultural and intellectual center for many

communities that valued their respectful relationship with nature and the land.

2. Graeber, David and D., Wengrow. 2021. The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity.
(New York, Farrar, Straus and Giroux), 142-143