The First Texans: The Importance of Regional Archaeology in a Global Context

Mike McBride

Hill Country Archaeological Association (HCAA)

 

The human ability to adapt - to make and use tools - have allowed them to populate distant parts. The Texas Hill Country is rich with the evidence of ancient human occupations predating 10,000 years ago. By learning about the lifeways of these ancient hunter-gatherers, we can understand what has led our species to succeed and fail. This talk will explore the significance of regional archaeology, focusing on the early inhabitants of Texas. For archaeologists, seemingly quiet mounds of earth and streams contain ancient echoes of human behavior. By discovering, analyzing, and cataloguing artifacts from prehistoric periods, we can begin to understand the ingenuity of early Texans and place them in the larger context of human history. Mike McBride will provide a review of the work of the HCAA in studying these ancient peoples and discuss how you can help uncover history.

An Introduction to Cognitive Archaeology and Cultural Evolution

Jordan Richard Schoenherr

Our survival as a species has depended on our ability to understand, represent, and manipulate the physical world around us. Like biological evolution, cultural evolution requires that humans experiment with different designs. Social learning allows humans to observe, test, and replicate technologies - linguistic or lithic - that increase their ability to hunt and extract resources from the natural environment. This introduction reviews the basic mental and social processes that are required for cultural evolution.