Link Farm State Archaeological Area
{{short description|Archaeological site in Tennessee, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox ancient site
| name = Link Farm State Archaeological Area
(40 HS 6)
| alternate_name = Duck River site, Duck River Temple Mounds
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| map_type = USA Tennessee
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| map_caption = Location in Tennessee today
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| coordinates = {{coord|35.99169 |-87.83659 |display=inline}}
| location = South of Waverly, Humphreys County, Tennessee, USA
| region = Middle Tennessee
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| cultures = Mississippian culture
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| architectural_styles = Platform mound, Burial mound
| architectural_details = Number of monuments: 6
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}}The Link Farm State Archaeological Area (40 HS 6), also known as the Duck River Temple Mounds or Duck River site, is a Mississippian culture archaeological site located at the confluence of the Duck and Buffalo Rivers south of Waverly in Humphreys County, Tennessee. The site is most widely known for the stone artifacts found during excavations in the late 19th century.
Site features
The site features include two substructure platform mounds, three conical burial mounds, a loaf shaped mound, and a central plaza area measuring {{convert|150|m|ft}} east to west and {{convert|250|m|ft}} north to south. The {{convert|90|acre|km2}} site was acquired by the State of Tennessee in 1974 and is now preserved as part of the Johnsonville State Historic Park.{{Cite encyclopedia | encyclopedia = Tennessee Encyclopedia | title = Duck River Temple Mounds | author = Smith, Kevin | url = https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/duck-river-temple-mounds/ }}{{Cite web | title = Link Farm State Archaeological Area | publisher = Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation | url = https://www.tn.gov/environment/program-areas/arch-archaeology/state-archaeological-parks---areas/link-farm-state-archaeological-area.html }}{{Cite book|title=Speaking with the Ancestors-Mississippian Stone Statuary of the Tennessee-Cumberland region|author=Kevin E. Smith|author2=James V. Miller |isbn=978-0-8173-5465-7|pages=144–146|publisher=University of Alabama Press|year=2009}}
Artifacts
{{Main|Duck River cache}}
The site is mostly known for being the location where the "Duck River cache" of chert artifacts was discovered in December 1894 in a low hillock at the site. In March 1895 the same but slightly deeper location was also the site of the discovery of a paired male and female set of Mississippian sandstone statues nicknamed "Adam" and "Eve". The male statue is now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the female statue has been lost. The Duck River cache was acquired by the McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture in Knoxville, Tennessee and is now on permanent display.
File:Mississippian Figure MET DP100985.jpg|Front view of "Adam", statue
File:Mississippian Figure MET DP261003.jpg|Oblique view of "Adam"
File:Mississippian Figure MET DP346458.jpg|Side view of "Adam"
File:Mississippian Figure MET DP261007.jpg|Rear view of the "Adam" statue
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://tnstateparks.com/parks/johnsonville Johnsonville State Historic Park Official site]
- {{Citation | title = The Duck River cache and the Evolution of Mississippian Symbolic Weaponry | author = David H. Dye |url = https://www.academia.edu/29603325 |year = 2007 | publisher= University of Memphis }}
{{Mississippian and related cultures}}
{{Pre-Columbian North America}}
{{Protected areas of Tennessee}}
Category:Middle Mississippian culture
Category:Archaeological sites in Tennessee
Category:State parks of Tennessee
Category:Protected areas of Humphreys County, Tennessee
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