New evidence supports idea that America's first civilization was made up
of 'sophisticated' engineers

Date:
September 2, 2021
Source:
Washington University in St. Louis
Summary:
New evidence discovered at Poverty Point in northern Louisiana by
anthropologists challenges previous beliefs about how pre-modern
hunter- gatherers behaved.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
The Native Americans who occupied the area known as Poverty Point in
northern Louisiana more than 3,000 years ago long have been believed
to be simple hunters and gatherers. But new Washington University in
St. Louis archaeological findings paint a drastically different picture
of America's first civilization.


==========================================================================
Far from the simplicity of life sometimes portrayed in anthropology books, these early Indigenous people were highly skilled engineers capable of
building massive earthen structures in a matter of months -- possibly
even weeks -- that withstood the test of times, the findings show.

"We as a research community -- and population as a whole -- have
undervalued native people and their ability to do this work and to do
it quickly in the ways they did," said Tristram R. "T.R." Kidder, lead
author and the Edward S.

and Tedi Macias Professor of Anthropology in Arts & Sciences.

"One of the most remarkable things is that these earthworks have held
together for more than 3,000 years with no failure or major erosion. By comparison, modern bridges, highways and dams fail with amazing regularity because building things out of dirt is more complicated than you would
think. They really were incredible engineers with very sophisticated
technical knowledge." The findings were published in Southeastern Archaeologyon September, 1, 2021.

Washington University's Kai Su, Seth B. Grooms, along with graduates
Edward R.

Henry (Colorado State) and Kelly Ervin (USDA Natural Resources
Conservation Service) also contributed to the paper.

The Poverty Point World Heritage site consists of a massive 72-foot-tall earthen mound and concentric half circle ridges. The structures were constructed by hunter-gatherers approximately 3,400 years ago from
nearly 2 million cubic yards of soil. Amazingly, this was done without
the luxury of modern tools, domesticated animals or even wheeled carts.



========================================================================== According to Kidder, the site was likely an important religious site
where Native Americans came in pilgrimage, similar to Mecca. It was
abandoned abruptly between 3,000-3,200 years ago -- most likely due to documented flooding in the Mississippi Valley and climate change.

The ridges at Poverty Point contain vast amounts of artifacts around
the edges and within, suggesting that people lived there. Kidder and
team re-excavated and re-evaluated a site on Ridge West 3 at the Poverty
Point Site that was originally excavated by renowned archaeologist Jon
Gibson in 1991.

Using modern research methods including radiocarbon dating,
microscopic analysis of soils and magnetic measurements of soils, the
research provides conclusive evidence that the earthworks were built
rapidly. Essentially, there is no evidence of boundaries or signs of
weathering between the various levels, which would have occurred if
there was even a brief pause in construction.

Kidder believes the construction was completed in lifts, or layers of
sediment deposited to increase the ridge height and linear dimensions
before another layer was placed to expand the footprint vertically and horizontally.

Why does that matter? According to Kidder, the findings challenge previous beliefs about how pre-modern hunters and gatherers behaved. Building the enormous mounds and ridges at Poverty Point would have required a large
labor pool that was well organized and would have required leadership
to execute.

Hunters and gathers were believed to shun politics.

"Between the speed of the excavation and construction, and the quantity of earth being moved, these data show us native people coming to the site and working in concert. This in and of itself is remarkable because hunter- gatherers aren't supposed to be able to do these activities," Kidder said.

What's even more impressive than how quickly the people built the earthen structures is the fact that they're still intact. Due to its proximity to
the Gulf of Mexico, this area receives immense amounts of rain that makes earthworks especially prone to erosion. Microscopic analysis of soils
shows that the Native Americans mixed different types of soil -- clays,
silts and sand -- in a calculated recipe to make the structures stronger.

"Similar to the Roman concrete or rammed earth in China, Native Americans discovered sophisticated ways of mixing different types of materials to
make them virtually indestructible, despite not being compacted. There's
some magic there that our modern engineers have not been able to figure
out yet," Kidder said.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
Washington_University_in_St._Louis. Original written by Sara Savat. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Tristram R. Kidder, Su Kai, Edward R. Henry, Seth B. Grooms,
Kelly Ervin.

Multi-method geoarchaeological analyses demonstrates exceptionally
rapid construction of Ridge West 3 at Poverty Point. Southeastern
Archaeology, 2021; 1 DOI: 10.1080/0734578X.2021.1958445 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210902101122.htm

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