And it is their DNA, or the mysteries of their DNA, that have generated some of the most intriguing debates in the study of early American prehistory.

Prehistoric cemeteries are uncommon on the Edwards Plateau.

Unlike the coastal plains of south and southeast Texas, where open cemeteries containing dozens of burials have been found, the Plateau’s dead seem to have been placed differently.

Based on excavations at sites like Bering Sinkhole, and on the broader pattern of cave and sinkhole use across the region, archaeologists have concluded that the natural openings in the limestone were not merely convenient disposal sites.

They were sacred passages.