Whatever drove the extinctions, the people who had organized their lives around hunting these large animals had to adapt.

They did.

The Archaic populations of Texas developed a diversified subsistence economy that drew on the full range of resources their environments offered.

In the river valleys, fish, freshwater mussels, and turtles became dietary staples.

On the uplands, deer, pronghorn, and a wide variety of small game were hunted.

Plant foods — gathered roots, seeds, fruits, and the underground storage organs of various plants, cooked in earth ovens called burned rock middens — became increasingly important.

The burned rock middens that are among the most characteristic features of the Texas Archaic landscape are enormous accumulations of fire-cracked limestone, the debris from thousands of cooking events carried out over generations of occupation at favored camp sites.