The Hilltop Gathering of Indigenous People

The Hilltop Gathering of Indigenous People. . , The First People , Before Europeans came to the land on which the French Legation sits, this hilltop was used by Native Americans for thousands of years. Archeological excavations have revealed that the site was rigorously utilized during the Archaic time period, possibly 5,000 years ago. Even earlier artifacts dating to the Paleo-Indian period show that humans may have used this area as early as 9,000 years ago. , The prehistoric occupants were hunters and gatherers who were most likely attracted to the site by a freshwater spring. The hilltop provided good visibility and cool breezes, while the river ran at its southern base. There were also abundant natural resources such as deer, fish, and birds for the hunters, while gatherers collected nuts, tubers, and berries. , At the time of the founding of the City of Austin in 1839, the Tonkawa, Lipan Apache, and Comanche peoples ranged through this land. , Tools of the Past , Stone tools and projectile points were made and used by Native Americans. The raw material, typically a sedimentary rock composed of small quartz crystals called chert, is hit with another stone to strike flakes off the center core. A flake of appropriate thickness and length is selected and flakes are further shaped by chipping the edges and thinning and shaping the body of the flake. Points are valuable research aids to archeologists. The shape and style of the point can help archeologists determine when the point was made. Most points have a fairly limited time span before they are replaced by points of different shapes. Archeologists have found many projectile points and flakes in this area from a wide time period. This tells us that for centuries, the area's first people spent time gathering here.