Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Poverty Point, Louisiana World Heritage Site


The Monumental Earthworks of Poverty Point, Louisiana, became the 22nd U.S. site to be inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List.  Inscription is a reflection of the "outstanding universal value" of Poverty Point, which "bears a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared." 

Poverty Point is an extraordinary prehistoric earthwork complex located in Louisiana's Lower Mississippi Valley.  It was part of an enormous trading network 3,000 years ago that stretched hundreds of miles across the North American continent.  Poverty Point is a remarkable system of monumental mounds and ridges that were built into the landscape for residential and ceremonial use by a sophisticated society of hunter-fisher-gatherers.  It is a masterpiece of engineering from its time as the major political, trading, and ceremonial center of North America and is an important archeological site.  

In addition to the U.S.'s success in inscribing Louisiana's "Poverty Point" was the official recognition of several culturally and historically rich spots. The Incan road system Qhapac Ñan, Pont D'Arc caves in France, the Grand Canal in China, and Erbil Citadel in Iraq are just a few of the sites inscribed for their unique preservation of cultural heritage.
                       
The World Heritage Committee has inscribed 26 official sites during the 38th session held in Doha, Qatar. To see photos of the sites or to learn more about their history, visit:http://whc.unesco.org/en/newproperties/date=2014&mode=gallery 
Learn more about World Heritage: http://whc.unesco.org/  

Learn more about Poverty Point: http://www.nps.gov/popo/index.htm

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