The complex of eight dome-shaped, tumulus burial mounds was in use during the Miller 1 phase of the Miller culture.[2] These were constructed as earthwork mounds between 1 and 200 CE. The complex is considered to be one of the largest and most important sites from this era.[3] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 as part of the Natchez Trace Parkway at milepost 286.7.[1]
Site description
The site is located at the headwaters of the Tombigbee River, a rugged, hilly area with many broad, swampy streams. It is named for "Pharr Flats", a wide, gently rolling terrace overlooking the confluence of Little Brown and Mackeys creeks. The site features eight dome-shaped mounds of differing sizes, several of which have been nearly flattened by plowing and cultivation during European-American farming. The mounds in the Pharr Mounds site are found over an area of 90 acres of land.[4]
In 1966 Charles Bohannon, an archaeologist for the National Park Service, supervised[5] an excavation of four of the mounds. The excavators found fire pits and low clay platforms at the base of the mounds.[3] They also found human remains, some cremated, as well as various ceremonial artifacts.
Many of the artifacts were made from non-local materials, such as Great Lakes copper and greenstone, galena, and mica, demonstrating the reach of trading through the Hopewell exchange system. These artifacts, which include copper ear-spools and a greenstone platform pipe, show the connection of the local peoples with the larger Middle Woodland period world of the time, reaching to the Great Lakes.[3]
