Four hundred years ago, the valleys and tributaries of the Ouachita, Red, Sabine and Neches rivers in what is today northeast Texas, northwest Louisiana, southwest Arkansas, and southeast Oklahoma were home to ancestors of the people known today as the Caddo. This extraordinary society of farmers, warriors, potters, priests, and traders played a vital role in the early political and cultural history of the region. Highly successful agriculturalists, the Caddo established themselves through much of the Piney Woods of east Texas by 500 AD. While primarily dependent on agriculture, they supplemented their diet through hunting, fishing, and gathering. Caddo villages were distinctive for their beehive-shaped homes constructed of long-stemmed prairie grasses. The Caddos were known for bow making, pottery production, and many other crafts, and were identifiable by facial and body tattoos and body painting. Most Caddo clothing was made of tanned deerskin. Europeans first encountered the Caddos in 1541, when conquistador Hernando de Soto fought a group in what is now Arkansas. Later encounters accentuated the friendly nature of the Caddos. The word "Texas" is said to originate from the Hasinai confederation of Caddos, who used the work "Tayshas," meaning "allies" or "friends." By AD 800, Caddo groups appear to have moved into the upper and middle Sabine drainage basin. Artifacts found in Hunt County suggest the presence of Caddoan peoples between 800 and 1700 AD; other, earlier peoples also used this region prior to the Caddo. Today, this area and artifacts discovered in it continue to emphasize the legacy of the Caddo peoples. (2010)