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Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History

1900 N. Chaparral Street
Corpus Christi, Texas 78401

(Phone) 361-826-4667

Hours of Operation

Tuesday - Saturday
10:00 am - 5:00 pm

Sunday
12:00pm -5:00pm

 
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Cultural Encounters
Why should you visit?
*Displays, maps, cultural material related to South Texas Native Americans
* Supplemental programming and activities located in the museum.
* Exhibits support TEKS curriculum in the classroom
* Exhibits based on artifacts and primary document sources.

Click here to Sign up for a Museum Visit or Educational Programing

Use this link to download a teacher's guide with TEKS for your visit.
Entrance to Cultural Encounters Gallery with Karankawa Native
 Why should you visit?

* Classroom curriculum designed to aide in teaching.
Click Image to Enlarge
The Land Before Texas
By the era of the 1500s, over 500 years ago, over 600 different Native American Groups occupied the area now known as Texas. These peoples represented cultures and languages that had developed over thousands of years. The Gulf Coast area of Texas reached from Northern Mexico and the Rio Grande up to the Sabine and Red Rivers. The native peoples who lived in this large area had different ways of life. The Caddo of East Texas were settled farmers and hunters and stayed in one area. The Coahuiltecans of the Lower Rio Grande area and the Karankawa of the Gulf Coast area were nomadic peoples who moved around as the seasons changed to find food sources-they were hunters and gatherers. Although they were separate tribes, they traded with each other, made war with each other and became allies with each other in a complex and changing social system. There were other Native groups in Texas, and later groups that came from outside of Texas, but our focus is on the Caddo, Coahuiltecan and Karankawa. Map of Locations of Texas Native Americans
 By the era of the 1500s, over 500 years ago, over 600 different Native American Groups occupied the area now known as Texas. These peoples represented cultures and languages that had developed over thousands of years. The Gulf Coast area of Texas reached from Northern Mexico and the Rio Grande up to the Sabine and Red Rivers. The native peoples who lived in this large area had different ways of life. The Caddo of East Texas were settled farmers and hunters and stayed in one area. The Coahuiltecans of the Lower Rio Grande area and the Karankawa of the Gulf Coast area were nomadic peoples who moved around as the seasons changed to find food sources-they were hunters and gatherers. Although they were separate tribes, they traded with each other, made war with each other and became allies with each other, made war with each other and became allies with each other in a complex and changing social system. There were other Native groups in Texas, and later groups that came from outside of Texas, but our focus is on the Caddo, Coahuiltecan and Karanakawa.
Click Image to Enlarge
The Aztecs The Karankawa
When the Spanish first set eyes on it, the Aztec empire was one of the largest and most advanced states in the Americas. Its capital—the twin cities of Tenochtitlan-Tlateloco—had a population of 250,000 and compared with the finest cities of Europe. The emperor Moctezuma ruled millions of subjects and a network of conquered territories.
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The Karankawas were a nomadic people who lived along the Gulf Coast Region of Texas from Galveston Island to Baffin Bay below Corpus Christi Bay. They lived along the coastline during the winter months while during the summer months they lived inland. Karankawas lived in small bands.
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Classroom Activites
Texas Native Americans Early Texas Cuisine Classroom Resources
Living Quarters Karankawa Cuisine Web Resources
  Karankawa Menu TEKS

TEKS
SS 3A-B (Grade 3), 1A-B, 2A-B-C, 4D, 10A (grde 4), 10A, 11A (Grade 5), 2A-B, 21A (Grade 7), 1B, 30A (Grade 8)

 
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