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