The David and Sally Jackman Scholarly Lecture Series and the Wichita State University Department of Anthropology present the talk “Ancient Poverty Point Mound Built With Surprising Speed” at 7:15 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13, in 100 Lindquist Hall at WSU.

Anthony Ortmann, associate professor of archaeology and anthropology in the Department of Geosciences at Murray State University, will be the guest speaker. 

Following the program, there will be a reception and refreshments at the Department of Anthropology on the first floor of Neff Hall.

The talk is free and open to the public.

Ortmann maintains that Native American earthworks are often assumed to have been built gradually, over long periods of time. New evidence from the Poverty Point site in northeast Louisiana is challenging this assumption.

Poverty Point’s Mound A was constructed more than 3,600 years ago and is one of the largest singular earthworks in all of North America. Despite its massive size, recent evidence indicates it was built in less than 90 days.

The Poverty Point site was recently nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is waiting for a decision.

Ortmann’s research has primarily focused on the interaction between hunting and gathering societies and the environments they occupy, as well as the construction and use of artificial earthworks.

To learn more about this program, contact the Anthropology Department at WSU at 316-978-3195.