Pharr Mounds

Natchez Trace: A Road Through the Wilderness

"PHARR MOUNDS, located 20 miles north of Tupelo, Mississippi on the Natchez Trace Parkway, is the most important archaeological site in northern Mississippi. It's also the largest, containing 8 dome shaped mounds spread over an area the size of 100 football fields. The Pharr Mounds date from the Middle Woodland Culture. People were at this site between 100 B.C. and 200 A.D.

"Although the builders of these mounds traveled to hunt and trade, they probably stayed at a village most of the year. Archaeologists have discovered a village here that was occupied as much as 400 years before the mounds were built.

"Artifacts recovered in 1966 indicate that the builders of these mounds were a part of the "HOPEWELL INTERACTION SPHERE" that had a far reaching trade network and was centered in Ohio and Illinois. Large ceremonial burial complexes like this one were a characteristic of the Hopewell Tradition.

"The Pharr mounds were built by first constructing a low, clay platform where log tombs were built or graves were dug to prepare a crematory basin. In ceremonies the dead were cremated or placed in tombs or graves along with objects to reflect the importance of the deceased. The site was covered over with dirt and cremations, until the large dome shape was constructed and the final layer of soil was placed on top. This back breaking work was done to honor important individuals.

"Join us next time when we will visit the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway."

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