Some genetic continuity from Early Archaic populations to later populations seems likely, even if the specific lines of descent cannot be traced.

Whether that biological continuity constitutes meaningful cultural continuity — whether the descendants of the Archaic Texans carried forward traditions, beliefs, and identities that connect to those ancient burials — is a different question, and one that archaeology alone cannot answer.

What The Cave Still Keeps

Bering Sinkhole is still there, in the limestone hills of Kerr County.

The oval opening in the rock, the shaft that descends into darkness, the chamber below — these features of the landscape have not changed since the archaeologists finished their work in 1991.

The bones have been documented, analyzed, and reported.