‘Time Before Texas’ exhibit spotlights Paleoindian people
The Falls on the Colorado Museum in Marble Falls hosts an exhibit on ‘A Time Before Texas’ from Oct 6-Nov. 5. Courtesy photo
The Falls on the Colorado Museum hosts the exhibit “A Time Before Texas,” which explores how Paleoindian people arrived and lived. The exhibit is open from Oct. 6-Nov. 5 at the Marble Falls museum, 2001 Broadway.
The traveling exhibit is a partnership between the Texas Department of Transportation and Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment of the Humanities.
Just over the past 10 years, archeologists have made fascinating new discoveries about the way Paleoindians lived and even how they arrived in what is now Texas, according to a media release from the Falls museum. The first of these hunting people crossed into North America from Siberia on the Bering Strait during the last Ice Age, which ended over 11,000 years ago. Their knowledge and traditions gave rise to many culturally distinct tribes and the Indigenous American communities.
The traditional stories of some Indigenous Americans say their ancestors were always here. Archeologists, who study objects and evidence left behind from early cultures, believe people have lived in Texas for at least 16,000 years, as evidenced by findings at the Gault Archeology Site near Florence on Interstate 35 north of Austin. Both ways of understanding the past are important to the study of Paleoindian history. “A Time Before Texas” considers current science and cultural tradition as it highlights what life was like for the first people to call early Texas home.
In addition to the exhibit this month is a presentation by Vaughn Hamilton on “Living on Hamilton Creek: A Quick Update on the Last 160 Generations.” The program is 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, at the museum. Hamilton will cover findings from several archeological excavations on the creek over the past several years.
“Many of the artifacts found in this area of Hamilton Creek span from 2,000 to 4,000 years ago,” said Hamilton in the museum’s media release.
The Falls on the Colorado Museum is located at 2001 Broadway in Marble Falls. It is open from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated. Learn more about exhibits and events at fallsmuseum.org.