A new study presented by archaeologists from Washington University in St. Louis has refuted the hypothesis that members of the first North American civilization were primitive hunter-gatherers. They left behind structures that are difficult to erect even with modern technology.
As informs Phys.org, archeological researches have been spent in the state of Louisiana in a place under the name Povertie Point. Earlier here were excavated traces of the civilization, which is at least 3,000 years old. It is believed to have been the first civilization in the region in the post-glacial period.
Artifacts found earlier, including utensils, tools and jewelry, have led scientists to conclude that this unknown ancient people were primitive. They were thought to be simple hunter-gatherers.
In a new study, however, archaeologists discovered highly unusual earthworks in the Mississippi River floodplain that look like six C-shaped ridges. Analysis revealed that not only these ridges, but also a number of mounds around them, are of artificial origin. The characteristics of these objects, as the authors of the work write, paint a very different picture of the first civilization of the Americas.
The findings prove that the first natives of these places were very far from the primitive people that the scientific community has so far imagined them to be. They were, as anthropologists estimate, highly skilled engineers, capable of building massive earthworks in a few months or perhaps even a few weeks. But most striking of all, these structures have successfully stood the test of time.
"We, as a research community, underestimated the local people and their ability to do this difficult work and do it as quickly as they did," said Tristram R. Kidder, the paper's lead author, and Tedi Macias, professor of anthropology, in a joint statement. - One of the most remarkable facts is that these earthen structures lasted more than 3,000 years without collapse or serious erosion. By comparison, modern bridges, highways, and dams collapse with surprising regularity. And building objects out of the earth is far more difficult than one might imagine. These people really were incredible engineers with very sophisticated technical knowledge."
Povertie Point consists of a massive earthen hill and concentric semicircular ridges. New evidence has confirmed that these structures were built about 3,400 years ago, with more than 1.8 million cubic meters of soil used to construct them. The speed of construction and the amount of soil moved indicate that a huge number of local people came here and worked together. This in itself is remarkable, since hunter-gatherers, according to science, were simply incapable of doing such work.
It is also surprising that the structures were erected by hand, without the help of animals and carts, because at that time in America there were no horses and domesticated cattle, and the local people did not know the wheel. Nor did they have sophisticated tools. Exactly how they erected giant objects, scientists have yet to learn.
"Like Roman concrete or tightly compacted earth in China, Native Americans discovered sophisticated ways of mixing different types of materials that made them virtually indestructible, even though they weren't even compacted," Kidder says. - There's a certain magic to it that modern engineers haven't yet been able to figure out."
By the way, the purpose of these massive structures is still a mystery. According to Kidder, the site may have been an important religious center where pilgrims flocked from all over North America. But it was suddenly abandoned some 2,000 to 2,200 years ago. One theory is that it may have been caused by the massive floods in the Mississippi Valley, traces of which have been documented in other studies.