Monthly meetings

Guest Speaker: Rachel Feit

Abstract:  The landscape of Enchanted Rock State Natural Area offers a compelling case study in the meaningful dialog that occurs between natural and cultural spaces. We tend to think of wild places as blank canvases, forgetting that these spaces appear in their current form through countless interventions from the people who came before. Landscapes are not merely the product of natural processes; they also reflect a series of choices made by generations of humans who moved through and interacted with them in ways that leave lasting imprints. Landscapes, in other words, are like texts that can and should be read to help us understand and remember the many people who experienced their lives in them. This talk traces the Indigenous and historic cultural landscape of Enchanted Rock through a discussion of sites and features found during Acacia Heritage Consulting’s recent survey of nearly 4,000 acres that are part of TPWD’s expansion of the park. The area around Enchanted Rock is a landmark place that was both revered and feared by Indigenous peoples. European explorers and early settlers saw it as potentially rich in resources to be exploited. Our recent archeological and historical research has found that while both Indigenous and historic peoples tread lightly on region around the Rock, they returned to it time and again to imprint the landscape in very unique ways.