TEXAS ARCHAEOLOGY: You can follow in the footsteps of 
early Texans at state parks ... details on Passport to 
Texas ... 
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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

The ecological regions of Texas are diverse -- something 
the Parks and Wildlife archaeological team knows well.

Our team has to become proficient in all of those different 
areas, and there are very different ways to find the archeology 
of those areas.

Margaret Howard is archeology survey team leader at 
Parks and Wildlife. Some areas of the state give up their 
secrets more easily than others.
 
In the Pineywoods, it's deep below the pine needle blanket 
that's on the ground;' it's very well preserved but it's hard to 
find. Out in West Texas, it often shows on the surface, so it's 
easy to find, but then it's very vulnerable to erosion, or even 
vandalism. 

Texas boasts a million acres of parkland, which includes 
countless places favored by visitors over the past 10,000 
years.

Humans are just not as different as you might want to imagine. 
We've had a number of cases where ancient campgrounds were 
below the campgrounds that are used today. We are humans; 
we're walking across the ground the way that humans once did. 
Humans are thirsty, humans need to eat, they like shade and 
protection from the weather. And so, if you look at those 
aspects of the landscape, you can figure out where people 
tended to live.

Learn how Parks and Wildlife archeologists use the clues 
left behind from peoples' activities to gain insight in 
Texas' past, at Texas Parks and Wildlife Expo, October 
seventh and eighth at TPWD headquarters in Austin.

That's our show for today ... For Texas Parks and 
Wildlife ... I'm Cecilia Nasti.