From Prehistory to the 1500’s
 Early Americans
 The first Americans may have traveled to the Americas
across a land bridge from Europe.
 The land bridge could have formed during the Ice Age and
been a pathway across the Bering Strait.
 These people may have crossed the land bridge because
of the search for food.
 Their search for food would have been chasing herds of wild
animals such as giant buffalo .
 The time was known as prehistory because it was before
written history.
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 Culture- the beliefs, knowledge, ideas, and ways of life
that define a certain group of people
 Civilization- culture with structure to their society and
innovations such as cities, government, commerce, art,
and writing.
 Paleo- Indian Period
 Began about 10,000 B.C. and went until 6,000 B.C.
 First scientific evidence of people being in Texas.
 These Natives used flint tipped spears to hunt giant
buffalo, mammoths, and mast0dons.
 These huge animals started to die off around 8,000
 The most famous Texas Paleo-Indian is known as
Midland Minnie whose bones were found in Midland.
 Lasted from about 6,000 B.C. to 700 A.D.
 Humans had to find a new way of living after their old
food source died off
 The humans started to hunt smaller animals including
deer, buffalo, and antelope.
 The also developed a new hunting weapon called an
atlatl. The atlatl hurled dart points.
 The men continued to hunt and women gathered plants
 Lasted from about 700 A.D. to about 1500 A.D.
 Native Texans began to live in villages and grow their
own plants.
 This was a change from the hunting and gathering that
the Natives were used to doing
 The Native Texans also started to use the bow and
arrow as an effective tool for hunting small and large
animals.
 The Maya were one of the first great civilizations in
North America.
 The Maya made great innovations in city structure,
social classes, and astronomy
 They also built great cities and pyramids
 The Aztecs were a great civilization who built their
cities around modern day Mexico City.
 Tenochtitlan was a city of 100,000 which was bigger than
most European cities at the time.
 The Coahuiltecans
 Lived on the Gulf Coast past the Rio Grande towards
modern day San Antonio.
 This area was hot and was not a good place for growing many
crops or finding food sources.
 Some of the food that was available was beans, nuts, lizards,
snakes, worms, and roots.
 The Coahuiltecans were nomads because they were always
looking for food.
 The Karankawas
 Lived on the Gulf shore
between modern day
Galveston and Corpus Christi.
 Because they lived on the coast
they became very good
fishermen
 The would spear fish and had
traps for shellfish.
 They used shark and alligator
grease to fight of mosquitos
 They wore outfits made from
deer skin and also tattooed
and pierced their bodies
 The Caddoes
 The Caddoes lived in Northeast Texas
 This was very rich farm land and had many trees and rich soil
 Because of the rich farmland and heavy wooded areas, the
Caddoes were able to build more permanent dwellings.
 Their houses were sturdy and built from grass and wood
 These houses were all a part of large villages
 They had big villages led by a chief called a Caddi
 Also, women played important roles in Caddo society.
 Apaches
 The Apaches lived in the grasslands of Central Texas .
 This location made their lives dependent on the wild animals
that they hunted for food.
 The animals were also used for shelter and tools
 They were nomads during the hunting seasons
 They farmed in villages during the growing seasons
 Comanches
 Moved into Texas from the far north
 Once they gained the use of horses, they were very
skilled on horseback.
 Known as “lords of the plains”
 Were very skilled hunters and were deadly with a bow
and arrow.
 Used Buffalo for food, tools, clothing, and housing.
 Raided other groups
 The Tonkawas
 The Tonkawas were hunters and fishermen
 Ate deer, buffalo, fish, and crawfish
 They also lived in grass houses and did not migrate
 Later helped Europeans fight the Comanches
 The Wichitas
 From Kansas and were very good farmers
 Lived in large grass lodges
 Skilled artists
 Elected chiefs to rule and held women in high regard
 The Jumanos
 Lived along the Rio Grande
 Used the river water to help them farm
 Lived in Adobe homes
 Sun dried clay and straw used to make brick
 The adobe kept them warm in the winter and cool in the
summer.
 Cherokees
 Moved to Texas much later around the 1800’s
 More advanced than other tribes
 Lived in log cabins
 Later intermarried with Europeans
 Integrated to European culture
 Owned slaves and plantations.