Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism Louisiana Archaeological Survey and Antiquities Commission Anthropological Study No. 7 POVERTY POINT [Illustration: Bird design from Poverty Point stone art.] Baton Rouge, Louisiana STATE OF LOUISIANA Edwin W. Edwards _Governor_ DEPARTMENT OF CULTURE, RECREATION AND TOURISM Noelle LeBlanc _Secretary_ ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY AND ANTIQUITIES COMMISSION _Ex-Officio Members_ Dr. Kathleen Byrd _State Archaeologist_ Mr. Robert B. _Assistant Secretary_, Office of Cultural DeBlieux Development Mr. B. Jim Porter _Secretary_, Department of Natural Resources Mrs. Dorothy M. _Secretary_, Department of Urban and Taylor Community Affairs _Appointed Members_ Mrs. Mary L. Christovich Mr. Brian J. Duhe Mr. Marc Dupuy, Jr. Dr. Lorraine Heartfield Dr. J. Richard Shenkel Mrs. Lanier Simmons Dr. Clarence H. Webb First Printing April 1983 Second Printing, with corrections September 1985 The second printing of this document was funded by the Louisiana Research Foundation and the U. S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service Historic Preservation Fund. This document was published by Bourque Printing, Inc., P. O. Box 45070, Baton Rouge, LA 70895-4070. POVERTY POINT: A Culture of the Lower Mississippi Valley Jon L. Gibson To Carl Alexander, with gratitude Editor’s Note 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.