Articles

We are pleased to announce A Time Before Texas, a new traveling exhibition created by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and circulated in partnership with Humanities Texas.

In the last decade, archeologists have made a number of fascinating new discoveries about the way Paleoindians lived and even how they arrived in the land we now call Texas. These first peoples passed on knowledge and traditions through the generations, eventually giving rise to many culturally distinct Tribes and Indigenous American communities.

Some Indigenous American traditional stories say that their ancestors were always here. Archeologists, who study objects and evidence left behind from early cultures, believe people have lived here for at least 16,000 years. Both ways of understanding the past are important to the study of Paleoindian history. A Time Before Texas considers both current science and cultural tradition to explore what life was like for the first people to call early Texas home.

This eight-panel exhibition is available in both freestanding and wall-hanging versions and is accompanied by copies of a companion card game—"A Year of Survival"—and an online version of the exhibition that includes additional interactive activities and an educator guide.

A Time Before Texas is available to rent beginning in July through the Humanities Texas traveling exhibitions program. To learn more about reserving this exhibition for your venue, please contact our exhibitions coordinator at exhibitions@humanitiestexas.org.