Enigmatic Toyah: Archaeological and Historical Evidence of Ethnic Diversity on the Southern Plains, 1350-1600 CE

Summary

In 1528, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca was shipwrecked of what is now Texas and recorded the very first European account of the diverse native peoples of the Southern Plains. I present the evidence from the concurrent archaeological phase, Toyah (1350-1600 CE), arguing that the archaeological record is not granular enough to identify ethnic designations such as Cabeza de Vaca witnessed. Rather, the archaeological record reflects likely social structures in which Cabeza de Vaca traveled—a fluid social field based on complex political and reciprocal relationships. Later European transgressions into the southern Plains call the numerous bands within this social field under the umbrella term Coahuiltecan. I argue that Euro-American homogenization of these foraging peoples contributed to their near erasure from historical record, although not their erasure from the landscape. Descendants of Coahuiltecan and associated nations still live in Texas today, with a revived interest in indigenous heritage.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions) 2018   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 948