2004 News Archives
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Texas Archeological Research Lab |
Archeological Lab Receives NEH Grant
TARL to develop four new Web exhibits for Texas Beyond History
The Texas Archeological Research Laboratory (TARL) in the College of Liberal Arts at The University of Texas at Austin has received a $170,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to create a series of online educational exhibits.
Prehistoric Texas will explore 13,000 years of human history in four regions of the state. The illustrated series will chronicle the stories of ancient people and the ingenious strategies and technologies they used to meet the challenges of day-to-day life in vastly different environments.
The four Web exhibits slated for the three-year project include "Prehistoric Peoples of the Plateaus and Canyonlands," "Prehistoric Peoples of the Rio Grande Plains," "Prehistoric Peoples of the Trans-Pecos Mountains and Basins," and "Prehistoric Peoples of the Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshlands."
Archeologists, botanists, artists and educators from across Texas will collaborate on the project under the direction of university archeologist Dr. Steve Black. The series will feature interpretive scenes of the past, artifacts from the TARL collections—many never seen before by the public—and a variety of interactive maps showing natural resources, geography and ancient places in each of the regions. Lesson plans and educational activities for K-12 teachers and students will be included.
The first exhibit is scheduled to debut in 2005, and will focus on the people of the Edwards Plateau of Central Texas and far southwest Texas canyonlands, a region known for mysterious rock art executed by prehistoric painters. The "Prehistoric Texas" exhibits will be provided free to the public through the university's Texas Beyond History Web site at www.TexasBeyondHistory.net.