There is a prehistoric landmark that is over 5,000 years old.

One of the oldest and most preserved earthworks from the Archaic period is located south of Monroe.

The site was built by a hunter-gatherer society. Diana Greenlee said that the site is significant because of its creators.

There is a question about poverty point. In West Carroll Parish, ancient history is found in real time.

One of the most complex earthwork sites that was built by hunter-gatherers is called theWatson Brake. Archeologists didn't think that hunter-gatherers would be so organized and complex with their work.

Greenlee said to imagine the people who are living by hunting, fishing and gathering wild resources coming together to build an amazing complex of earth works.

It's cool that it's not the only one. There are other earthwork complexes around but they are not as complex. The oldest mounds in the US are here.

Watson Brake is located in rural Ouachita Parish, just south of Monroe.
Watson Brake is located in rural Ouachita Parish, just south of Monroe.

The north and south mounds are connected by two curved ridges. Two features form a large enclosure.

The largest mound is 25 feet tall and has a diameter of 231 feet. The second mound is 13 feet high. The mounds are between 1.6 and 11 feet in size.

The mounds were built over six hundred to seven hundred years ago.

The site was discovered in the 1980's. A regional archaeologist was shown the site. The first map of the earthworks was sketched with the help of a graduate student from Harvard. In the 1990s, the Middle Archaic mound sites in the state were recognized.

Poverty Point is more complex than thought.

The "New York Times" and "Science Magazine" published a story about the discovery ofWatson Brake. The area was declared a state park due to Jones' efforts.

Many of the artifacts on the site were made from local sources. It's a distinctive and characteristic.

Greenlee said that stone beads and geometric shaped objects were created from the local dirt. It's pretty amazing in its complexity and some people would consider it.

Some of the first people in Louisiana to make stone beads were from the area. The gravel was ground with sand and water. Microdrills made from stone were used to create the holes for the beads. The drill must have been hafted onto a wooden shaft to drill through a bead.

Many of the fire-earthen blocks are 1.5 inches square.

The only antler artifact is the antler flaker. At the base of Mound B, there was a shell deposit that may have helped in bone preservation.

The Poverty Point World Heritage site is more complex.

The southern half of the site was purchased by the state for preservation. The site is not open for public viewing due to the fact that most of the site has been owned by the Gentry family since the 1950's.

Individual archaeologists are allowed to conduct research on-site by the family.

Ian Robinson has a verified account on both the social media sites.

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The Ouachita Parish archaeological site was first published on the News-Star.