Is the Oldest Man-Made Structure on Earth on a Louisiana College Campus?

They also took interest in the long-debated usage of the sites. Sediment core samples from the elder mound produced evidence of burned ash and cane plants, as well some sort of mammalian bone fragments encased in mineralized reed (from cane plants), together suggesting some sort of crematory, sacrificial or otherwise ceremonial use. Their position, too, overlooking (disregarding all the buildings in the way now) the Mississippi River floodplain, suggests they were built to be seen from a distance or to watch over the surrounding area. What we have, then, from two mounds known to settlers for almost 200 years now, is a picture of an archaeological wonder utterly unique in the world. Not only were they likely important gathering spaces, strategic markers and sites of funerals or sacrifices, and not only may they have had an additional astronomical importance, but they’re also among the, if not the, oldest surviving man-made structures in the entire world. <a href="https://jwbarlament.medium.com/is-the-oldest-man-made-structure-on-earth-on-a-louisiana-college-campus-47a19b011aa">Read More</a>