• Karankawa was the language spoken by migratory bands of Native American peoples in Texas. Thought to be the first Native Americans in Texas, they lived along the Gulf Coast and migrated from the inland areas in summer to the barrier islands in winter.
  
  Disease from contact with the Spanish decimated the Karankawa peoples, and much of their history has been lost. By 1850 they were extinct, but archaeological records like their tools and weapons tell us much about their way of life.
  
  

Weapons

• The Karankawa were a tall and athletic people with an average height of close to six feet. Their primary weapons were long bows fashioned from red cedar wood. Their arrows were made from long pieces of hard cane and tipped with chert or fire hardened points. These bows were greatly feared by the Spaniards.
  
  

Hunting tools

• Along with their bows and arrows the Karankawa made use of lances tipped with chert spear points for hunting deer and buffalo. Rabbits, turtles, and alligators were all hunted successfully using these tools.
  
  During the winter months the Karankawa would live on and along Galveston Bay. They used woven nets to catch fish and alligators. Simple digging sticks were used to gather shellfish.
  
  

Canoes and houses

• Karankawa craftsmen made dugout canoes from the hollowed-out trunks of trees. They used chert and flint tools and fire to hollow out the tree trunk.
  
  Their canoes were large enough to carry a whole family and were used to travel up and down the rivers and along the coast. They were too unstable for travel out in the gulf, but were very useful in calmer waters.
  
  The basic design of Karankawa homes can be traced back hundreds of years. A simple dome-shaped wigwam fashioned of branches and covered with animal hides, the Karankawa home was a surprisingly effective shelter. These round houses could withstand all the vagaries of weather and were easily dismantled when it came time to move.
  
  

Pottery and basket weaving

• The Karankawa made simple pottery to cook their food in and carry water. They also made decorated baskets of many sizes. The pots and baskets were often coated on the inside with a tarry substance called asphaltum. This presumably made the baskets and pots water tight. Some archaeologists suggest that the pots were placed in a hole over a fire for cooking food.