Texas Beyond History is likely the most comprehensive public archaeology website in existence ... and is still growing. Whilst primarily of a prehistoric bent, the new section on the South Texas Plains has some material on the Spanish missions in that region that may be of interest to HISTARCH folks (and, of course, there is historical material in the sections on other regions of the state, too). Take a gander!

Bob Skiles
~~~
"Smithers! Get that bedlamite to an alienist." ~ C. Monty Burns


----- Original Message ----- 
From: Steve Black 
To: [log in to unmask] 
Sent: Thursday, September 21, 2006 3:52 PM
Subject: South Texas Plains Exhibits


Announcing: Native Peoples of the South Texas Plains, a new online exhibit set on Texas Beyond History, the virtual museum of Texas' cultural heritage, created by the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory (TARL) at the University of Texas, Austin in partnership with 14 other organizations. This is the second regional presentation to appear in the "Prehistoric Texas" initiative.  Dozens of collaborators from throughout the state contributed their time, expertise, and image resources to this undertaking.  Aimed at diverse audiences from scholars to schoolchildren, the exhibit set is substantive, the largest yet created on TBH, and features stories, illustrations, photographs, interactive maps, learning activities, lesson plans, and documents. 

The South Texas Plains region is that portion of southern Texas that extends southward from the Balcones Escarpment to just inland from the coast, eastward to the Guadalupe River Valley, and westward to the Rio Grande and into adjacent northeastern Mexico.  It is an ecologically diverse region that evidences long-term cultural patterns and unique traditions created by over 500 generations of hunters and gatherers. Native peoples came to the region by at least 13,500 years ago (11,500 B.C.); linguistic evidence suggests that some language groups never left, and that direct descendants of the region's first peoples were those encountered in the region by the Spanish intruders beginning in the 1530s with Cabeza de Vaca, Texas' first ethnographer.  Archeological evidence is consistent with this inferred continuity and includes evidence of established territories (dedicated cemeteries) as early as 5,000 B.C.  

The new educational exhibits summarize and exemplify the archeological and ethnohistorical record of the native peoples of the region, from over 13,300 years ago in Paleoindian times to Early Historic times, and share some of the scholarly information and cultural treasures with the wider world.  It is a permanent addition to TBH and one that creates a framework suitable for adding new content as it becomes available. 

Key Elements: major exhibits on Prehistory , Native Peoples, Artistic Expression, Nature's Harvest, Patterns of the Past, Kids Activities, and Teaching Resources, as well as separate site exhibits on: Richard Beene,  Espiritu Santo, Morhiss Mound, Hinojosa, Choke Canyon, and Gateway Missions.

By the numbers: 437 MB of online content, 128 substantive web pages, 845 unique images, and 78 pdf documents.

Underwritten by: grants and donations from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Texas Historical Commission (Texas Preservation Trust Fund), private foundations, archeological organizations, the College of Liberal Arts (UT Austin), and private citizens.

www.texasbeyondhistory.net/st-plains/

(If you have trouble viewing the opening page, your browser's Flash Player plug-in may be outdated. -- see www.adobe.com.)


Exhibit Credits:


Project Leaders: Steve Black and Susan Dial, editors, Texas Beyond History.

Written content contributors: Steve Black, Susan Dial, Thomas R. Hester, Phil Dering, John Dockall, Nancy Kenmotsu, Alston Thoms, Carol Schlenk, Jeff Taff,  Grant Hall,  Steve Tomka, Tamara Walter, Kay Hinds, Betty Inman, Robert Hard, Ken Brown, Bill Birmingham, Tom Fort, Karen Fort, and Mike Quigg.  

Graphics and image contributors: John Abbott, Michael Bever, Steve Black, Bill Birmingham, Doug Boyd, David Calame, Pat Clabaugh, Susan Dial,  Curtis Dusek, Grant Hall,  Thomas R. Hester, Carol Macaulay, Richard McReynolds, Bruce Moses, Bob Stiba, Heather Smith, and Alston Thoms.

Artists: Frank Weir, Jose Cisneros, David Everett, Ted DeGrazia, Nola Montgomery, Reeda Peel, and Hal Story.

Web Developers: Heather Smith, Josh Leong, Chuck Lucier, and Scott Herrick. 

Key exhibit partner organizations:  Center for Archaeological Research (UTSA), Southern Texas Archaeological Association, Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, Texas Department of Transportation, Texas Parks and Wildlife, and Texas Historical Commission.

Museums and History Centers: Southwestern Writers Collection (Texas State University), Museum of the Coastal Bend, Museum of South Texas History, Victoria Regional History Center, Institute of Texan Cultures, Center for American History (UT Austin), and Witte Museum.

Reviewers: Thomas R. Hester, Pat Mercado-Allinger, Bob Ricklis, Brett Cruse, and Richard Weinstein.

Proofreaders: Rosario Casarez, Richard Weinstein, Laura Nightengale, Ken Brown, and Suzanne Colwell.


This detailed announcement follows a short announcement.  Please forward either to anyone who might be interested. 

Comments, suggestions, and edits most welcome, please send to Steve Black <[log in to unmask]> or Susan Dial <[log in to unmask]>.