The Ancient TexansCh. 3, Section 1

I. Prehistory: the period of time before writing was developed

A. People first came to the Western Hemisphere 35,000 years ago.

B. Asians migrated across a land bridge, theBering Strait.

C. Why? hunting for food (followed the herds of animals) and warmer weather

D. Humans first reached Texas about11,500 years ago.

Early Native American Migration

Bering Straight

Shrinking of Bering Land Bridge

E. Before written records were kept, how did people pass down their history to the next generation?

Stories & pictographs

Click here for online Pictograph Site

Era #1

Paleolithic (Stone Age)

15 to 8 thousand years ago

Leanderthal Lady: female remains found near Leander, Texas that are about 10,000 years old

Leanderthal Lady Link

Leanderthal Lady Link #2

Food

Mastadon

Mammoth

giant bison, rabbits, squirrels, birds

Prehistoric Mammals

Wooly Mammoth

www.sdnhm.org

www.prehistoriclifeafterkt.com

Wooly Mammoth

www.museum.state.il.us

Mastadon

www.prehistoriclifeafterkt.com

Mastadon

www.museum.state.il.us

How are Mastadons different from Wooly Mammoths?

• Mastadons are smaller in size.

• different tooth formation

• smaller, straighter tusks

Weapons & Tools

atlatl

Flint-tipped spears & darts

BPS Engineering Atlatl Web Site

World Atlatl Organization Web Site

Atlatl Web Site

Shelter

Caves (rock shelter) or out in the open

Nomadic or Settled

Nomadic and lived in small groups

Add to top of next era-- Midland Minnie: female remains found near Midland, Texas that are about 8,000 years old

Era #2

Nomadic or Settled

Archaic

8,000 years ago

Climate became warmer & drier.

Food

Hunted smaller game: buffalo, elk, bear, rabbits, squirrels, birds

Foraged: berries, nuts, seeds, roots

Buffalo Jump

Ice-age bison, such as this long-horned Bison latifrons, were twice as big as the bison (Bison bison) that live in South Dakota today. They died out about seven thousand years ago. Smaller bison took their place

Weapons & Tools

Tools

Axes, picks, drills, choppers, scrappers, and grinding tools

made of stone or bone

Shelter

Caves or out in the open

Decorated caves with pictographs

Nomadic or Settled

Nomadic: They would stay in one area longer, but they were always searching for food. They began to domesticate animals (dogs).

Rock Shelter

On ceiling of rock shelter

Era #3

Mesoamerican

1800-1900 years ago

(100 A.D.)

Food

Developed:

Peanuts, corn, tomatoes, beans, pumpkins, squash, cotton

Agriculture

Hunted: buffalo & turkey

Weapons & Tools

Developed: bow & arrow

Tools & Pottery

Shelter

Crude wood and stone houses

Nomadic or Settled

Settled in villagesMore complex society: workers, warriors, leaders, farmers

Why did this period (and all Prehistory in Texas)

end?

Spanish explorers arrived, and they kept written records

(journals)…ending

Prehistory.