Mound F

     The last mound that American Indians built at the site during the Late Archaic period was Mound F. The mound is small and dome-shaped, nearly 5 feet tall and 80 feet by 100 feet at its base. Archaeologists have only recently discovered it.

     The placement of the mound on a natural ridge makes it seem larger than it really is. American Indians often took advantage of terrain to make mounds look more impressive. In fact, Mound D was built on one of the ridges on top of Macon Ridge so as to make it look taller when viewed from Bayou Maçon.

     Of all the mounds that people built at the site, Mound F was the smallest and took the least amount of effort. This suggests that mound building had, perhaps, become less important than it was several generations earlier.

     When people left Poverty Point, they also chose to leave behind a certain way of life. North American Indians would not build a site bigger than Poverty Point for nearly 2,000 years. That bigger site, named Cahokia, was built by American Indians who grew and ate agricultural crops like maize (corn) and beans.