Archeology is not the study of dinosaurs, rocks or fossils — archeology is the study of past human cultures. See What Does An Archeologist Do? for a brief explanation.

The Spanish explorers and missionaries, who were the first Europeans to enter Texas, often adopted Texas Indian names for rivers and other natural features. The Spaniards translated the place names into Spanish, and many of the Indian origins for place-names have been lost. See our selection of Texas place-names derived from Indian languages as well as names that are associated with Indians or their activities.

• Native Americans did not use the bow and arrow until about 1,500 years ago — earlier hunters used spears.

• The horse was introduced to American Indians by the Spaniards after 1500.

• Bison (or American buffalo) were hunted by Native Americans on foot long before the horse was introduced into the New World.

• The Karankawa of the Texas coast spoke a language related to Indian languages of the Caribbean region.

• Prehistoric tribes in Texas traded for turquoise and obsidian from New Mexico, shell from the Pacific and Atlantic coasts and exotic stone from as far away as Minnesota.

• A stone quarry in Texas was used for millennia by inhabitants of the southern Great Plains and is now a national monument — Alibates National Monument — in the Amarillo area.

• In addition to projectile points (stone points for arrows and spears), Native Americans used stone, bone and shell for knives, drills, axes, awls, hoes and grinding implements.

• Prehistoric people in Texas used plant fibers to make baskets, mats, sandals and other useful objects. Well-preserved woven sandals have been found by archeologists in the dry rock shelters of southwestern Texas.

• Some of the most impressive prehistoric rock art in North America is found in Texas — visitors can see excellent examples at Hueco Tanks and Seminole Canyon State Historic Sites.

• Not all Native Americans lived in tipis. Many villagers lived in thatched or adobe houses, and many nomadic groups lived in brush- or hide-covered shelters or rock shelters.

• Corn has been cultivated in Texas for at least 2,000 years. Beans and squash were other staple foods of the early Texas agriculturalists.

• The accounts of early explorers help archeologists understand many sites. Much that we know about the historic tribes of southern Texas comes from the accounts of Cabeza de Vaca, who was shipwrecked on the Texas coast and traveled through southern Texas and northern Mexico for eight years, from 1528 until 1536.

• The first black explorer in Texas was Esteban, a Moor who traveled with Cabeza de Vaca.

• The Tigua tribe came to the El Paso area from New Mexico in the 1680s, and some of their fields have been in continuous cultivation since that time.

• The Alamo is a Spanish mission and was the first mission established in San Antonio, in 1718.

• The first ranches in Texas were the 18th-century Spanish mission ranches along the San Antonio River, where mission Indians tended the livestock.

• As many as 90 percent of the recorded archeological sites in some areas of Texas have been damaged or destroyed.