NATIVE TEXANS Prehistoric Texas

September 24, 2015 Who has lived in Texas since birth? Who moved o Texas and from where?Who has lived in Texas since birth? Who moved o Texas and from where? What are some aspects of Texas climate and geography that might have affected the early people living here?What are some aspects of Texas climate and geography that might have affected the early people living here? Title page – Native Texans and vocabulary list on the board, define each.

Agree/Disagree Statement 1. All early Native American peoples lived in tepees. 2. An archaeologist studies the past. 3. Bison were important animals in the lives of early Native Americans. 4. The Spanish explorers introduced horses to North America. 5. The natural environment has no influence on people’s way of life. 6. Thousands and thousands of years ago, the first people came to the Americas from Asia. 7. Pottery was introduced to Native Americans by the Europeans. 8. Native American groups had a vast trading system, from the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians and Mexico to the Great Lakes.

ANCIENT PEOPLE How and when did the first people reach the Americas? Nomads are… Archaeologist are… Artifacts are.... What evidence is used to support the claim that the first people in the Americas came from Asia? What Era of history are we studying? What dates does this Era cover? 4.1

Migration Many thousands of years ago, Earth was very cold, causing vast amounts of water to become ice. This lowered sea levels and created a land bridge between Alaska and Asia. People migrated from Asia to the Americas, following the animals they hunted for food. hill.com/media/repository/protected_content/COMPOUND/ /14/65/TX H16_TX_SC_C04_L1_mi/index.html?mghCourseID=C2HODWDOVGDS1LZ8SRK G239B5Ehttp://connected.mcgraw- hill.com/media/repository/protected_content/COMPOUND/ /14/65/TX H16_TX_SC_C04_L1_mi/index.html?mghCourseID=C2HODWDOVGDS1LZ8SRK G239B5E hill.com/media/repository/protected_content/COMPOUND/ /56/37/TX H16_TX_SC_C04_L1_ms1/entrypoint.html?mghCourseID=C2HODWDOVGDS1L Z8SRKG239B5Ehttp://connected.mcgraw- hill.com/media/repository/protected_content/COMPOUND/ /56/37/TX H16_TX_SC_C04_L1_ms1/entrypoint.html?mghCourseID=C2HODWDOVGDS1L Z8SRKG239B5E

THE FIRST TEXANS Begins in prehistory with a series of migrations 35,000 years ago Land bridge connecting Siberia & Alaska They crossed the Bering Strait following the herds First reached Texas about 11,500 years ago

PREHISTORIC PEOPLE Foragers (Gatherers) In the beginning people lived in small groups, and gathered their food. They were nomadic, moving all the time to find food. Finding food took up all of their time. They learned early that you had to leave some for more to grow.

PREHISTORIC PEOPLE Hunter During the stone age, people began to hunt for their food. They developed weapons that could give them an advantage over the animals. These included the atlatl, flint-tipped spears, and darts. They used the surround strategy. They were still nomadic.

PREHISTORIC PEOPLE Hunter/Gatherer About 8,000 years ago life changed. They still hunted, but for smaller animals. They didn’t depend on meat alone. Tools improved: axes, picks, drills, choppers, scrapers, grinders, and mortar & pestle were made of stone or bone. They stayed longer in one place.

PREHISTORIC PEOPLE Texas Hunter/Gatherer The people of Central America were growing their own food, and around AD 100 several groups in Texas adopted this Mesoamerican way of life. The first plants to be grown were: peanuts, corn pumpkins, tomatoes, various beans, squash, and cotton.

Finding food...notes Finding food...notes Characteristics of Hunter-Gatherers. Transient Small bands... They hunted... They gathered... What was the ATLATL? watch the video to see…. 4.1

Living in Texas... Main Ideas The first people to live in Texas arrived about 11,000 B.C. Early Texans were hunter-gatherers and moved from place to place. The earliest Texans lived in rock shelters, areas naturally cut into the side of a canyon. New technology, including the bow and arrow, agriculture, and pottery, helped early Texans to survive.

At the Buttermilk Creek excavation site near Salado, Texas, archaeologists discovered a large collection of stone tools. These tools are evidence that a prehistoric group of people lived in the Americas approximately 15,500 years ago, much earlier than previously thought. Until this discovery, it was believed that the earliest people, the Clovis people, arrived in the Americas about 11,200 years ago.

FARMING CHANGES More dependable source of food No more roaming Building homes and villages Other types of work to do Led to complex societies –craftsmen, warriors, political and religious leaders, developed along with farmers.