Unit 1: Prehistoric Texans

STUDYING THE PAST

Eras: To make the study of history manageable, historians

divide the past into shorter periods.

I. Prehistory: the period of time before written

records

A. People first came to the Western

Hemisphere 35,000 years ago.

B. The first Americans migrated from Asia
across a frozen land bridge, the

Bering Strait.

C. Why? hunting for food (followed the herds

of animals) and warmer weather

D. Humans first reached Texas about

11,500 years ago.

Paleo- means ancient

Multiple Choice

How do you think ancient cultures taught their history?

• they read books

• they drew cave drawings

• they went to school

E. Before written records were kept, how did
people pass down their history to the next
generation?

Stories & pictographs

Pictographs in

Texas have

been found in
the Pecos River

valley,

Seminole

Canyon, and

Big Bend.

MASTODON

How are Mastodons
different from Wooly
Mammoths?

•Mastodons are smaller in
size.

•different tooth formation

•smaller, straighter tusks

Multiple Choice

Why do you think the Mastodon eventually replaced the Mammoth?

• less food

• evolution and a changing environment

• the need to travel long distances

Weapons & Tools

➢ atlatl

➢ Flint-tipped spears &

darts