Larson Site

{{short description|Archaeological site in Illinois, United States}}

{{Infobox NRHP

| name = Larson Site

| nrhp_type =

| image = Larson Site from the road.jpg

| caption =

| nearest_city = Lewistown, Illinois

| locmapin = Illinois#USA

| architect OR builder =

| architecture =

| added = November 21, 1978

| area = {{convert|70|acre}}

| refnum = 78001145{{NRISref|version=2010a}}

}}

The Larson Site is a prehistoric archaeological site in Fulton County, Illinois, near the city of Lewistown. The site was the location of a Mississippian town and was occupied during the 13th and 14th centuries. The town was one of seven major town sites in the central Illinois River valley and served as a social and economic center for surrounding villages and farms. The artifacts uncovered at the site have been well-preserved and include both organic remains and intact homes, providing significant archaeological evidence regarding the Mississippian way of life.Maruszak, Kathleen. National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Larson Site. National Park Service, 1977-09.

Early History

The Larson Site was a stockaded village with a large flat-topped mound in an open plaza surrounded by homes.{{Cite web |title=Native Americans: Prehistoric: Mississippian |url=https://www.museum.state.il.us/muslink/nat_amer/pre/htmls/m_sites.html |access-date=2023-09-23 |website=Illinois State Museum}}{{Cite journal |last=Conner |first=Michael D. |date=2016 |title=Mississippian Habitation Components at Dickson Mounds in the Central Illinois River Valley |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26599929 |journal=Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=67–92 |issn=0146-1109}} The Larson site was located at the confluence of the Spoon River and Illinois River.{{Cite web |title=Native Americans: Prehistoric: Mississippian: Economy:Settlement |url=https://www.museum.state.il.us/muslink/nat_amer/pre/htmls/m_settle.html |access-date=2023-09-23 |website=Illinois State Museum}}

Spoon River Mississippian consists of three phases:{{Cite journal |last=Kuehn |first=Steven |date=2013 |title=Mississippian Faunal and Botanical Remains from the Tree Row (11F53) and Baker-Preston (11F20) Sites, Fulton County, Illinois |url=https://www.academia.edu/5897860/Mississippian_Faunal_and_Botanical_Remains_from_the_Tree_Row_11F53_and_Baker_Preston_11F20_Sites_Fulton_County_Illinois |journal=Illinois Archaeology |volume=25 |pages=27–62 |via=Academia.edu}}

Eveland (A.D. 1050–1150)
Orendorf (A.D. 1150–1250)
Larson (A.D. 1250–1300)

Archaeology

In 1964 through 1970, archaeologist Alan Harn excavated the Larson Site.{{Cite web |date=2015-09-23 |title=Dickson Mounds Still Yield Clues To Early Native American Life |url=https://www.wglt.org/show/wglts-sound-ideas/2015-09-23/dickson-mounds-still-yield-clues-to-early-native-american-life |access-date=2023-09-23 |website=WGLT |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Harn |first=Alan D. |url=https://ehrafarchaeology.yale.edu/document?id=nn60-023 |title=The Marion phase occupation of the Larson site in the central Illinois River valley |date=1986 |publisher=Center for American Archaeology Press |isbn=978-0-942118-24-7 |series=Kampsville seminars in archeology |volume=2}} The village had been attacked and burned circa 1240.{{Cite web |title=Oral History Interview - Historians Speak Alan Harn |url=https://presidentlincoln.illinois.gov/oral-history/collections/harn-alan-1/interview-detail/ |access-date=2023-09-23 |website=presidentlincoln.illinois.gov}}

The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 21, 1978.

References

Category:Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Fulton County, Illinois

Category:Middle Mississippian culture