January 26 2015 Latest developments o Monte Verde Campsite Chile Archaeologists have found artifacts dating back more than 14 000 years Small group of voyagers using a coastal route to reach America by water Around the Pacific Rim and landing in the Americas Understand the origins of the earliest Paleo Indians o Advancing DNA comparisons o NU 54 TAMU Corpus Christi Found artifacts Major find was that there was no set burial site o Could have been cremated o Could have done burial at sea o Perhaps these bands were nomadic The Native Peoples o Introduction Not native to Texas Sixteenth century European people arrived Columbian exchange Also exchanged disease o Called a catastrophe paradigm Links diseases to demographic decline o Indigenous people had no immunity o Measles smallpox and the common cold decimated the New o Estimated that 95 of the indigenous peoples in Texas died World inhabitants during this catastrophe Passing of information was by way of oral tradition Very few tribes had a written system Histories are lost Different value system than in today In the 16th 17th century most of the Europeans reactions to the indigenous people were negative because their behaviors and values were different than the Europeans Most of the Europeans understood that they could own their own property and land but the indigenous peoples believed that you could not own natural items o Land was natural and couldn t be owned o You could use it but not own it o Caused problems between Europeans and indigenous peoples Europeans had a highly centralized model of governance o Made the assumption that indigenous peoples have the same sort of system o Strong sense of personal liberty in tribes Would have a head of tribe but he has a nominal leadership role Warriors are not under any kind of contract to follow his instructions or guidance o Europeans made deals with chiefs but didn t realize that warriors didn t have to listen to chiefs This caused a lot of confusion when treaties were broken Social organization in tribes was based on family and kinship o If there was a marriage it was monogamous o Ceremonies were rare and divorce was not unusual o Cherokee women could divorce her husband by putting her husband s belongings outside the teepee There were gender roles in the tribes o Men would spend their time hunting and fishing making or preparing for war and talking o Women would spend their time cooking pack and carry the housing and the menial tasks around the camp Religion spiritual belief o Europeans were Protestant or Catholic o Tribes in Texas held beliefs in a supreme being or beings Few believed in one god Most revered nature sun moon rain etc The name comes from the Aztec words for either a serpent that flies or an abundance of trees There are no specialists in their history Unending quest for food Gatherers and small time hunters Move according to the seasons Were annihilated as a distinct cultural group in Texas during the Spanish Information suggests that they ate spiders worms rotten wood period Women would goad men to do something by chanting and shouting o The men would then conduct a war dance o Any captives would be cooked and eaten Also practiced female infanticide o They would kill their daughters o Struggle for food o Population control o Coastal groups Coahuiltecans Practiced second harvest o They eat their own human waste o Speculated that they were really tight for food Karankawas We re not quite sure what the word means but it suggests dog lovers or dog raisers Legendary archers In great physical shape Hunt and fish Wrestlers and have a very savage appearance Men would be naked and each nipple and lower lip was pierced Nomadic Charged with cannibalism Kinship based community o Basic unit is the family o Strict rules concerning incest Wife was normally from a different band Couple would live with the husband s family Taboo o Husband was not allowed to look at or speak with his in laws Prevented any kind of arguments that might lead to conflict Much of the information about them is taken from de Vaca s account in the 1500 s Practiced cannibalism Believed that those who were eaten were eternally damned o Enemies could be eternally damned The one who ate the person would receive the essence of the other person the good parts like bravery Those bitten by snakes were also eternally damned Had a creation belief o Man washed up on an oyster shell o Then ordered to do good o If a man did good he would go above o If a man disobeyed he would be sent below Current day descendants live in Texas and Louisiana o About 450 representing the Atakapan nation Considered extinct Atakapans o Agricultural societies Caddo Still alive in Oklahoma o Almost 6000 are currently enrolled in the Caddo tribe Sedentary agriculturalists High degree of social and political organization Clearly defined chief can give guidance and advice Spanish thought the Caddo were the most civilized of the indigenous peoples of Texas o the Romans of Texas Hereditary female line o Mother s name passed down When the parents divorced children would live with the mother and her extended family Believed in one supreme being may be why the Spanish thought they were more civilized Jumano Less is known than of any other tribes o Much is speculation Tribe became extinct in the 1700 s Speculated that they were an agricultural society Traders Thought to be tall and muscular Thought that the cultural disintegration was due to Spanish slavery and entering into the Apache groups o The Plains people Tonkawa Good scouts for the Spanish changing their material culture Name means they all stay together Nomadic Hunters and gatherers Social system in matrimonial with the children belonging to their mother s clan Practiced ritualistic cannibalism o Assume the strengths of those they have eaten Current day Tonkawa tribal members number 600 Wichita Lipan Apache Kiowa Comanche o Later migrations into Texas
View Full Document
Unlocking...