What Does Archeology Reveal?
"As far as we know, nothing in Mexico or South America even comes close
in age."
—Dr. Jon Gibson, Archeologist, the University of Southwestern
Louisiana
Archeologists learn how people lived long ago by examining what they left
behind. In the Lower Mississippi Valley, remnants can be magnificent earthworks
and finely crafted objects with ceremonial importance.
Each mound has its own chapter to tell in the unfolding story of the
human past. With construction spanning some 60 centuries, the earthworks
disclose changes in how people behaved. The oldest mounds tend to be smaller,
possibly built by hunter-gathers, while later mounds grew larger, often
the handiwork of more settled people who tended crops and lived in towns.
How Did They Make The Mounds?
Imagine a small army of workers toiling from dawn to dusk, gathering baskets
of dirt. They carry their burdens to a clearing, dump the soil, and tamp
it down with their feet. They retrace their footsteps many times. Days
pass, and as the ribbon of workers relentlessly empties baskets, a shape
emerges and grows to great height.
Variations of the scene were repeated for some 6,000 years throughout
the rich bottom lands of the Lower Mississippi Valley.
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