Obion Mounds
Encyclopedia
Obion Mounds also known as the Work Farm Site, is an archeological site of the Mississippian culture
located north of Paris
, Henry County, Tennessee, on the north fork of the Obion River
. The site is the largest Mississippian site in western Tennessee and was probably inhabited by 1000 to 1100 CE. and abandoned by 1300. It consists of seven platform mound
s surrounding a plaza
measuring 200 feet (61 m) by 900 feet (274.3 m). The largest mound at the site was 500 feet (152.4 m) wide by 30 feet (9.1 m) tall with a ramp leading to its summit. At one point the mounds and plaza were surrounded with a wooden palisade
. The site also has 2 depressions thought to be borrow pits from which the soil to construct the mounds was taken. In 1845 the owner of the site, Solomon Hartsfield, was digging in one of the borrow pits when he discovered a stone statue
. The statue was later damaged in a house fire during the late 19th century and only its head now remains. It is the only Mississippian site in western Tennessee to have produced such a statue.
Mississippian culture
The Mississippian culture was a mound-building Native American culture that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1500 CE, varying regionally....
located north of Paris
Paris, Tennessee
Paris is a city in Henry County, Tennessee, United States, west of Nashville, on a fork of the West Sandy River. In 1900, 2,018 people lived in Paris, Tennessee; in 1910, 3,881; and in 1940, 6,395. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 9,763. It is the county seat of Henry...
, Henry County, Tennessee, on the north fork of the Obion River
Obion River
The Obion River system is the primary surface water drainage system of northwestern Tennessee.The Obion has four major forks, the North Fork, Middle Fork, South Fork and Rutherford Fork . The confluences of these forks are only a few miles above the mouth of the Obion's discharge into the...
. The site is the largest Mississippian site in western Tennessee and was probably inhabited by 1000 to 1100 CE. and abandoned by 1300. It consists of seven platform mound
Platform mound
A platform mound is any earthwork or mound intended to support a structure or activity.-Eastern North America:The indigenous peoples of North America built substructure mounds for well over a thousand years starting in the Archaic period and continuing through the Woodland period...
s surrounding a plaza
Plaza
Plaza is a Spanish word related to "field" which describes an open urban public space, such as a city square. All through Spanish America, the plaza mayor of each center of administration held three closely related institutions: the cathedral, the cabildo or administrative center, which might be...
measuring 200 feet (61 m) by 900 feet (274.3 m). The largest mound at the site was 500 feet (152.4 m) wide by 30 feet (9.1 m) tall with a ramp leading to its summit. At one point the mounds and plaza were surrounded with a wooden palisade
Palisade
A palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure.- Typical construction :Typical construction consisted of small or mid sized tree trunks aligned vertically, with no spacing in between. The trunks were sharpened or pointed at the top, and were...
. The site also has 2 depressions thought to be borrow pits from which the soil to construct the mounds was taken. In 1845 the owner of the site, Solomon Hartsfield, was digging in one of the borrow pits when he discovered a stone statue
Mississippian stone statuary
The Mississippian stone statuary are artifacts of polished stone in the shape of human figurines made by members of the Mississippian culture and found in archaeological sites in the American Midwest and Southeast...
. The statue was later damaged in a house fire during the late 19th century and only its head now remains. It is the only Mississippian site in western Tennessee to have produced such a statue.