TWO TEXAS
WORLDS
ComancheKarankawa
How two Native peoples lived in very different parts of Texas.
Where they lived shaped their daily lives.
Same Texas.
Different answers.
How did the land affect their lives?
Buffalo lived on the grassy Plains. Along the Gulf Coast, people found fish, shellfish, and plants. Both tribes knew where to find food and when to move. [S1] [A1]
The land was important, but it was not the only thing that mattered. Family, beliefs, trade, and what people learned also shaped their lives.
A year in two Texases
Native peoples lived in Texas long before there were highways. They learned how to find food and build homes in different places.
Imagine traveling west across the grasslands. A Comanche family needs food and water. They also need to know when to move camp.
Now imagine traveling southeast to the coast. A Karankawa family lives near bays and marshes. They need to know where to find food as the seasons change.
The camp scenes are imagined using history sources. They did not all happen in the same year. The Comanche sections mostly cover the 1700s and 1800s. The Karankawa sections use early written records and objects found at older camps.
The Plains awaken
Follow the herd. Step inside camp. See why horses changed so much.
Explore the Comanche ↗CHAPTERS IV–VIWinter by the bay
Follow the shoreline, then the seasons. A canoe connects the two.
Explore the Karankawa ↗CHAPTER VII & EPILOGUERead the evidence
A broken pot, an old account, a photograph. What can each one tell us?
Look at the sources ↗Start with
the landscape.
Click a map label to learn about that area.
This Texas outline uses U.S. Census data. The labels show general areas. They do not mark exact tribal borders. The landscape photos were taken in modern times; see credits.
Southern Plains
Comanche land was called Comanchería. It covered parts of Texas and nearby states. Its size changed over time. [S1] [S3]
Texas Gulf Coast
The Karankawa lived along the coast from about Galveston Bay to Corpus Christi Bay. They found food and supplies on islands, around bays, and on nearby grasslands. [S2]