The Indian story of the Park is quite complicated for several reasons. First, we cannot confine our story to the man-made boundaries of today, but to the natural geographic features which are mainly the Guadalupe Mountains. Second, we must deal with more than one group of people and outside cultural influences of each group. These groups, however, will be confined mostly to New Mexico and north and west Texas. Then, too, long periods of time must be taken into consideration. So, let us start our story with man’s first entry into the new world some 15 to 25,000 years ago. Most archaeologists agree that man came from Asia via the Bering Straits, perhaps by a land bridge or over the ice. Undoubtedly many migrations over a long period of time were made by various small groups of peoples. These first people were nomadic followers of game and perhaps gatherers of seeds. Steadily moving southward, they eventually reached what is now southeastern New Mexico and north and west Texas. How long they lived here, where they went and who their ancestors were are unknown. Theory plus material evidence suggest that they may have evolved into what archaeologists call the Cochise complex to Basketmaker to Pueblo, with deviations in all groups. Yet, at the present time there is not enough evidence this last happened that simply, so we shall attempt to present the evidence as interpreted for each group or groups coming into contact with Carlsbad Caverns National Park and adjacent areas. There appears to be a long time-lag between Early Man and our next group, the Basketmakers. Positive proof indicates that the Basketmakers were here before 900 A.D., and possibly as early as 4000 years ago. Our Basketmakers, which are not to be confused in any manner with the San Juan Basketmakers, were a rather isolated group and tended to remain that way through numerous outside influences. While Pueblo groups to the west and north were progressing in agriculture, architecture, and esthetic arts, our group, because of their environment, remained more or less stable in their mode of life—hunter, and gatherers of seeds—in an area totally unsuitable for agriculture. Next to enter our area were the Apaches from the north after 1300 A.D.(?) Whether they exerted pressure on the Basketmakers we do not know. After the Apaches acquired horses from the Spanish, thus making them mobile, different groups moved to other parts of New Mexico and Arizona. Branching to the south and southeast were the Mescalero and Lipan bands. The Mescalero band settled in an area which included the Guadalupe Mountains and surrounding districts whence they raided the Pueblo Indians and the Spanish until about 1725, when another Plains group, the Comanches, came into the country from the northeast. By pushing the Apaches north and west, the Comanches controlled a tremendous portion of the Southern Plains.