Poverty Point and the Planet Venus

An Ancient Standard of Length visits America

Professor John E. Clark, has established that the massive ancient constructions at Poverty Point1 in Louisiana, were built using a standard length of 166 cm. This length can be precisely derived from a much more ancient standard created over 4000 years ago by the Minoans on the Island of Crete.

It appears that Native Americans accepted the concepts but seem to have rejected the step (Yard) of 60 fingers, and may have simply selected 100 fingers, when developing their standards of length thus creating the 166 cm standard of Poverty Point

In table 1 below we compute the length of a one-second pendulum at standard gravity then correct the length for operation at the latitude and gravity at Poverty Point.9 Next, we compute the length of the pendulum12 at the increased period provided by Venus13 and finally we continue the count of the number of fingers from the Sumerian 60 to the native American 100

Table 1 Calculating the length of the pendulum standard at Poverty Point

For an exact match the pendulum must be shortened by the ratio of 0.999831. This correction in length could be obtainred using a total swing angle of 1/ 4 pendulum lengths (L/4) along with a Ball/string Mass Ratio of 55.7.

This is the 166 cm Standard of Poverty Point.

None of this complex analysis would have been required of these Ancient Engineers and Scientists, only that they document the physical properties of the pendulums used. This standard could have been brought to America. We feel it is less likely that it was independently discovered here.

Roland A. Boucher