The Rich Archaeology of the Texas Hill Country

This Advanced Training opportunity was presented by Steve Stoutamire of the Hill Country Archaeological Association after the April Chapter Meeting of the Hill Country Chapter, Texas Master Naturalist, held on ZOOM on April 26, 2021. In this video, Mr. Stoutamire talks about the Hill Country of Kerr County and surrounding counties, where some of the richest archaeology in the State of Texas can be found. Sites are numerous here because of the abundance of local flints which provided the backbone of the ancient Native Americans stone age culture and technology. Abundant springs (particularly in the past), rivers and streams also contributed to the essentials of life for these semi-nomadic indigenous peoples. Studies of archeological sites in this part of Texas have revealed the essentials of the life ways of ancient Native Americans in our area. The talk will begin with the basics of what archeology is and why it is one of several subdisciplines of anthropology. The chronological periods of archeology in Texas and their dates are discussed as well as what tools and weapons ancient peoples used, what they ate and how they processed both meat and plant foods. The talk will conclude with the presentation of a local site which has recently been discovered and dated to be over 10,000 years old. Earlier Native Americans did inhabit our area, possibly as far back as 13,500 years ago.

To learn more about the Hill Country Archaeological Association, please refer to their website at https://hcarcheology.org/

For more information about the Hill Country Chapter, Texas Master Naturalist refer to the website at https://txmn.org/hillcountry/