You may have thought that all primitive societies could do is hunt and gather.

Anthony Ortmann will speak at Wichita State to dispel that belief. He is an associate professor of archaeology and anthropology at Murray State University in Murray, Kent.

Ortmann will speak about Native American earthworks. He’ll focus on Poverty Point Mound A, one of the largest mounds in North America, located in Louisiana.

The talk exposes new discoveries that point to the mound being built in just 90 days, said Jerry Martin, director of the Holmes Museum of Anthropology at Wichita State.

“It’s a pretty fascinating thought that one of the largest mounds in North America was built by a group of people, in a very short time, that we’d always thought didn’t have a complex government or the collective ability to do this, to arrange this kind of work to be done,” Martin said. “We think they lived in small hunting and gathering groups, but obviously they were able.”

His talk is titled “Ancient Poverty Point Mound Built with Surprising Speed” and is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. Thursday in Lindquist Hall, Room 100.

The research Ortman will present on Poverty Point Mound A contradicts theories that hunter-gather societies were simple and unable to organize large labor forces.

“It’s an enigma of the history of how this was done and the social structure they had, and that they were able to produce this huge mound in such a short amount of time,” he said.

The program is free, and the public is welcome to attend. A reception with refreshments will be held on the first floor of Neff Hall following the lecture.

“[We’ve had] very good speakers in the past,” Martin said. “We’re sure that Dr. Ortmann will be just as interesting and exciting as all of the others.”

Ortmann has a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Southern Illinois University and a Ph.D. in anthropology from Tulane University in New Orleans. His research has focused on hunter-gatherer societies and their environments, in addition to studying artificial earthworks. His presentation is part of the David and Sally Jackman Scholarly Lecture series.