The Ancient Pyramids of Arkansas

Plum Bayou was an ancient pyramid-building culture in what is now Arkansas, flourishing centuries before Cahokia became the largest city of the Mississippian world. In this video, Ed Barnhart explores Plum Bayou, a remarkable pre-Mississippian site near Little Rock that existed between 650 and 1000 CE. At its height, the site had 18 earthen platforms, a massive 104-acre plaza, and enormous earthen pyramids, including Mound A, which stood about 50 feet tall. Ed examines the evidence connecting Plum Bayou to the later rise of Cahokia, including Plum Bayou-style pottery found at Cahokia and the possibility that its earlier pyramid-building tradition influenced Cahokia. He also explores Plum Bayou's extensive trade network, which connected Arkansas with the Gulf of Mexico, the Ozarks, and the Great Lakes. The story goes even further back, as Ed looks at earlier earthwork and pyramid-building traditions across the region, including Poverty Point and other ancient cultures that came long before the Mississippian civilization. #PlumBayou #Cahokia #Archaeology #AncientAmerica #AncientHistory #MississippianCulture #ArkansasHistory #EdBarnhart Archaeologist Ed Barnhart – where to find his work The ArchaeoEd Podcast is about the ancient civilizations of the Americas. It’s just me, explaining what I’ve learned in over 30 years as an archaeologist, an explorer, and a seeker of esoteric knowledge. https://www.archaeoed.com My YouTube Channel - Archaeologist Ed Barnhart - weekly videos on topics concerning current archaeology and ancient civilizations of the Americas. https://www.youtube.com/@Ed_Barnhart Five video lecture series available through Great Courses – a total of 116, 30 minutes lectures on the ancient Americas. You can view all my lectures on the Great Courses streaming platform, Great Courses Plus. My newest Great Courses series, released in Summer of 2025, is on Olmec Civilization. https://www.thegreatcoursesplus.com/edwin-barnhart My Great Courses lectures are also available through Audible: https://www.audible.com/search?searchNarrator=Edwin+Barnhart The 2027 Mayan Calendar is a printed annual wall calendar that shows both the Maya and Gregorian (Christian) dates for each day of the year. Available for purchase at: https://www.mayan-calendar.com Maya Calendar iPhone App by Edwin Barnhart. It can calculate your Maya birth date, giving you information about your personality and destiny according to modern Maya wisdom. A free app available for iPhone and Android smart phones. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/maya-calendar/id305642777 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mayancalendar.app&hl=en_US&pli= 1 Bars and Dots - a Maya calendar calculator program created by myself and software engineer Matt Neel. It’s the most sophisticated Maya calendar calculation tool ever created. Available for free at https://www.barsanddots.com . Patreon – a way to director support creators For just $5/month, you can support my efforts through Patreon. I’m cheaper than a cup of coffee – and much less bitter! Help me to create science-based counter narratives to all the factually incorrect information out there on the internet these days. Become my latest supporter at: https://www.patreon.com/archaeoEd