Jumano Indians

The Rio Grande branch of the Jumanos was Puebloan Indians. They are called Puebloan because the houses and buildings they lived in are called Pueblos. A Pueblo is like a big apartment building. Most have two or more stories. The walls are usually made from large mud bricks called adobe bricks. If the right kind of rock is available, many Pueblos would build rock walls. In total, almost 10,00 people lived in five Jumano villages north of Big Bend. About 30 - 40 lived in each house. Inside the house, the rooms were painted with red, yellow, and white stripes.

Although the region was dry, they settled along the Rio Grande and used irrigation to grow corn, squash, beans other vegetables, and possibly ctn order to trade their crops, jewelry or feathers. The Jumanos had striped tattoos on their faces that marked them as traders.They served as middlemen, or go-betweens, for eastern farming tribes such as the Caddo, and Puebloan peoples of Mexico. Men had short hair with one long lock decorated with feathers. The women wore braids. Trading with the Europeans brought horses and diseases. Long before Texas became part of the U.S., the Jamanos lost their land and trading partnerships to the Apache when they moved into Texas in the mid-1700s.