The Living Communities And The Distant Past

The contemporary Indigenous peoples of Texas and the surrounding region — the federally recognized tribes whose ancestors inhabited these landscapes — have their own understandings of who they are and where they come from.

Those understandings are encoded in oral traditions, in ceremonial practices, in the specific relationships to specific places that define tribal identity.

The relationship between those living traditions and the archaeological record of the ancient Texans is complex and contested.

Scientific evidence can identify population patterns, genetic relationships, dietary practices, burial traditions, and trade networks.