Texas Archeology Month

October is Texas Archeology Month (TAM)!

The 2023 TAM Event/Activity Form is now live! Fill out this form to let us know about any TAM activities or events that you're planning.

Each October, the Texas Historical Commission celebrates TAM, an opportunity for Texans to appreciate the depth and richness of our heritage through the lens of archeology. Across the state, TAM events such as archeology fairs, demonstrations, take-home activity kits, museum tours and special exhibits, lectures and presentations, and history walks highlight the valuable information that archeological investigations have produced about the state’s rich and expansive cultural heritage of our state. The THC coordinates the statewide celebration and encourages partners in archeology and historic preservation to organize TAM events and programming. The TAM Calendar of Events is hosted on the THC website, and the agency works with partners and volunteers to distribute interactive activity kits across the state. The THC also hosts an archeology fair that brings together historic sites, university programs, local societies, state agencies, private companies, and schools to showcase how archeology can be used to teach across cultures and disciplines. The 2023 Texas Archeology Month Fair will be on Sunday, October 15, at the French Legation State Historic Site in Austin.

TAM planning is underway! Here’s how to participate in TAM 2023!

1. Volunteer for TAM preparations or at events.
   • To volunteer to assemble pinch-pot kits, contact Laney.Fisher@thc.texas.gov.
   • To volunteer to help with the October 15 TAM Fair at the French Legation, contact Virginia.Moore@thc.texas.gov.
2. Host a TAM Event
   • Fill out the 2023 TAM Event/Activity Form to get on the TAM Calendar of Events. Don't have all the details nailed down yet? That's ok, just submit what you have now and email the TAM Team with updates. Check out last year’s calendar below for event ideas.
   • Submit a Public Outreach Materials Order Form to get FREE archeology-related materials (posters, brochures, educational materials) to distribute to the public during TAM (you can order these materials year-round!).
   • Order pinch pot kits to hand out at your event by emailing TAM@thc.texas.gov.
   • Apply for the Council of Texas Archeologists Public Outreach Grant for up to $500 to help fund your event.
3. Donate supplies or participate in fundraising activities for TAM by emailing Anjali.Zutshi@thc.texas.gov.

 

Pinch Pot Activity Kits

We offer the popular Pinch Pot Activity Kits that we are distributing across the state of Texas. The kits come with clay, tools for decorating, and a handout with links to online resources. Many of our partners include primary schools, homeschool groups, and local archeology/history societies. Email TAM Coordinator Maggie Moore to order kits for your group or to distribute at your TAM event.

Already got your kits? First, start by watching the video below to learn how to make a pinch pot. The video was produced by Becky Shelton, one of the THC’s regional archeological reviewers.

Next, you’ll want to create designs in the wet clay with the tools provided. The THC's Historic Sites Division created a handout on Caddo Ceramic Traditions. In addition, check out these links from our partners at Texas Beyond History for more inspiration for your designs: Pottery Galleries, Amazing Clay, and Created in Clay pages have beautiful examples of Caddo pottery designs you can try out. Older students may even want to try their hand at Making Cordmarked Pottery.

Finally, learn more about Texas pottery traditions and the peoples that developed them!

• Visit the Kids World of the Caddo exhibit to learn about the Caddo people who lived in East Texas and made beautiful pottery.
• Present-day Caddo Nation tribal members have revived their ceramic tradition, with amazing examples from some of the most prominent Caddo artists found here.
• The Created in Clay exhibit provides lots of detailed information on the Caddo ceramics found at archeological sites.
• The Coastal Pottery page describes ceramics made along the Texas Coast by ancestors of the historic Karankawa tribes.

Hosting a TAM Event/Activity?

Free Materials for TAM Event Hosts

The THC provides a variety of materials that are of no charge to TAM event hosts, available via TAM materials order form and can be requested via email or telephone directly from the Archeology Division. Our series of brochures are available for downloading.

Wreck of the San Esteban

La Belle

San Felipe de Austin

Support for Your TAM Event

Are you interested in hosting a special TAM event in your community? Successful TAM events frequently involve partnerships. If you need to know where to find partners with archeological expertise in your part of the state, contact the TAM Coordinator.

The Council of Texas Archeologists (CTA), the nonprofit organization that serves the professional archeological community in Texas, offers mini-grants to support TAM events. Visit their website for information and instructions.

 

More About Texas Archeology Month