The Poverty Point Culture that flourished for over 1,000 years had virtually disappeared by 500 B.C. There is no evidence of warfare or conflict with another group, so perhaps internal political or religious changes caused the decline. In any event, people gradually abandoned the regional centers and returned to living in small scattered settlements. Never again in Louisiana did the Indian people build such massive earthworks or trade over such an extensive area.
Tchefuncte
The simplified lifestyle that developed at the end of the Poverty Point Period continued throughout the next cultural period. During the time of the Tchefuncte (pronounced Che-funk′tuh) Culture, from 500 B.C. until A.D. 200, people lived in small scattered settlements. Long distance trade was much less important, yet people in Louisiana were in contact with people in western Mississippi, coastal Alabama, eastern Texas, Arkansas, and southeastern Missouri.
In Louisiana, most Tchefuncte people seem to have lived in coastal areas and in lowlands near slow-moving streams. In these areas, they camped on natural levees, terraces, salt domes, cheniers and ridges that provided dry ground in this wet environment. Here they built their houses, probably temporary circular shelters having a frame of light poles covered with thatch or grass mixed with mud.
Tchefuncte Site
The Tchefuncte Site, on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, was so named because it was situated inside Tchefuncte State Park (renamed Fountainebleau State Park). The site had two shell middens, one that measured 100 feet by 250 feet and another 100 feet by 150 feet. Both were excavated, and archaeologists found 50,000 pieces of pottery, as well as artifacts made from bone, shell and stone. Forty-three human burials were recovered, none of which had objects buried with them.
They continued to depend on wild game and collected plant foods. In the coastal areas, they ate tens of thousands of brackish water clams and oysters, leaving behind piles of shells called shell middens. Because of the number of shells, it once was thought that clams provided the major protein source for Tchefuncte people. However, clam meat is actually low in protein and also in other nutrients and calories. Clams were probably eaten because they were always available, but they were not very important in nourishing the people. Surprisingly, Tchefuncte people apparently never ate crabs or crawfish, which also were plentiful.
Tchefuncte Indians obtained most of their protein from deer, raccoons, alligators, and fish, but many other animals, especially small animals and migratory birds were also eaten. The Indians used atlatls to kill large game like deer and bear. For smaller mammals and birds, they preferred traps, nets and bolas. They probably had several techniques for fishing including netting, spearing, and fishing with hook and line. Like the Meso-Indians before them, they gathered plant foods, including grapes, plums, persimmons, acorns, and hickory nuts. They also grew squash and gourds in small gardens.