Anna Site
Artists conception of the Anna Site
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 Location in Mississippi today
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| Location |
Natchez, Mississippi, Adams County, Mississippi,  USA
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| Region | Adams County, Mississippi |
| Coordinates | 31°41′43.37″N 91°20′59.17″W / 31.6953806°N 91.3497694°W |
| History | |
| Founded | 1200 |
| Abandoned | 1500 |
| Periods | Anna Phase |
| Cultures | Plaquemine culture |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1924, 1997 |
| Archaeologists | Warren K. Moorehead, James A. Ford, Jesse D. Jennings, John L. Cotter |
| Architecture | |
| Architectural styles | platform mound |
| Architectural details |
Number of temples: 8 |
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Anna Site
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| NRHP Reference # | 93001606 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | September 14, 1993 |
| Designated NHL | September 14, 1993 |
| Responsible body: Private | |
Number of temples: 8
The Anna Site (22 AD 500) is a prehistoric Plaquemine culture archaeological site located in Adams County, Mississippi 10 miles (16 km) north of Natchez. It is the type site for the Anna Phase (1200 to 1350 CE) of the Natchez Bluffs Plaquemine culture chronology. It was declared a National Historic Landmark on September 14, 1993.
The Anna site is located on a bluff above the Mississippi River, about 10 miles (16 km) north of Natchez, Mississippi. The site consists of eight platform mounds, six of which are situated around a central plaza. The main group of six mounds sits near the bluff, with the largest being Mound 3. It is 50 feet (15 m) in height and sits directly on the edge of the bluff overlooking the river. A ramp runs down the front of this mound onto the plaza area and toward a smaller mound (Mound 5) which is about 300 feet (91 m) away and measures 12 feet (3.7 m) in height. A small mound (Mound 4) sits adjacent(northeasterly) to Mound 3, just off the plaza. Excavations of this mound have found evidence of a summit structure. Another small mound (Mound 1) sits in a similar position on the southern side of Mound 3. Mound 2 flanks the plaza in between Mound 1 and Mound 5. Mounds 3, 2 and 5 are situated parallel to the plaza area, but Mound 6 is diagonally positioned. Mound 6 also has remnants of a ramp. Two other mounds (Mounds 7 and 8) are situated to the east and northeast of the main group. Deep ravines surround the mounds, and material, including Mississippian culture pottery, is scattered in the area.
The construction of the Anna Site began c. 1200, corresponding to the beginning of the interaction among various Lower and Middle Mississippi cultures, leading to the formation of the Plaquemine culture. There were minor occupations at the site but the most significant period of occupation at the site starts during the Gordon Phase 1000–1200 of the Coles Creek period (700-1200). Mound construction may have begun during this period but had definitely begun by the succeeding Anna Phase (1200 to 1350) and continued through the Foster Phase (1350-1500) and Emerald Phase (1500 to 1680). This 300-year period saw the transformation of the site into a regionally significant multi-mound center, possibly ruled over by a burgeoning hereditary elite class. The site was occupied until c. 1500.
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