In this age of hustle and bustle, Texans cannot afford to flounder about unawares of where to turn for information most urgent and necessary as their own history. What you want--nay, what you need--is the encyclopedia herein. The patriot will find stories of heroism and warning, the student will discover annals of valuable learning and the curious will discover purpose renewed in historical origin. With educational and entertaining illustrations, the reader will at once be transported back to historic times and doubtless become the "go-to" guy or gal for Texas trivia. From the arrival of Aguayo to the zeal of Zavala, each page contains a morsel of valuable history of the great state of Texas. Texan and scholar Stephen Biles has collected an invaluable source of information so exciting and excellent that it has been sized to fit within your pocket or purse--after all, one never knows when history might call.

Paleoindians first arrived in Texas more than eleven thousand years ago, although relatively few sites of such early peoples have been discovered. Texas has a substantial post-Paleoindian record, however, and there are more than fifty thousand prehistoric archaeological sites identified across the state. This comprehensive volume explores in detail the varied experience of native peoples who lived on this land in prehistoric times. Chapters on each of the regions offer cutting-edge research, the culmination of years of work by dozens of the most knowledgeable experts. Based on the archaeological record, the discussion of the earliest inhabitants includes a reclassification of all known Paleoindian projectile point types and establishes a chronology for the various occupations. The archaeological data from across the state of Texas also allow authors to trace technological changes over time, the development of intensive fishing and shellfish collecting, funerary customs and the belief systems they represented, long-term changes in settlement mobility and character, landscape use, and the eventual development of agricultural societies. The studies bring the prehistory of Texas Indians all the way up through the Late Prehistoric period (ca. a.d. 700–1600). The extensively illustrated chapters are broadly cultural-historical in nature but stay strongly focused on important current research problems. Taken together, they present careful and exhaustive considerations of the full archaeological (and paleoenvironmental) record of Texas.

The extremely varied geography of Texas, ranging from lush piney woods to arid, mountainous deserts, has played a major role in the settlement and development of the state. To gain full perspective on the influence of the land on the people of Texas, you really have to take to the air—and the authors of Historic Texas from the Air have done just that. In this beautiful book, dramatic aerial photography provides a complete panorama of seventy-three historic sites from around the state, showing them in extensive geographic context and revealing details unavailable to a ground-based observer. Each site in Historic Texas from the Air appears in a full-page color photograph, accompanied by a concise description of the site's history and importance. Contemporary and historical photographs, vintage postcard images, and maps offer further visual information about the sites. The book opens with images of significant natural landforms, such as the Chisos Mountains and the Big Thicket, then shows the development of Texas history through Indian spiritual sites (including Caddo Mounds and Enchanted Rock), relics from the French and Spanish occupation (such as the wreck of the Belle and the Alamo), Anglo forts and methods of communication (including Fort Davis and Salado's Stagecoach Inn), nineteenth-century settlements and industries (such as Granbury's courthouse square and Kreische Brewery in La Grange), and significant twentieth-century locales, (including Spindletop, the LBJ Ranch, and the Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport). For anyone seeking a visual, vital overview of Texas history, Historic Texas from the Air is the perfect place to begin.

Since it was first published in 1996, Official Guide to Texas State Parks and Historic Sites has become Texans' one-stop source for information on great places to view scenic landscapes, tour historical sites, camp, fish, hike, backpack, swim, ride horseback, go rock climbing, and enjoy almost any other outdoor recreation. This revised edition includes five new state parks and historical sites, completely updated information for every park, and many beautiful new photographs. The book is organized by geographical regions to help you plan your trips around the state. For every park, Laurence Parent provides all of the essential information: The natural or historical attractions of the park Types of recreation offered Camping and lodging facilities Addresses and phone numbers A locator map Magnificent color photographs So if you want to watch the sun set over Enchanted Rock, fish in the surf on the beach at Galveston, or listen for a ghostly bugle among the ruins of Fort Lancaster, let this book be your complete guide. Don't take a trip in Texas without it.

Light allows us not only to see the works of art, but also to take care of them and preserve them for future generations, through diagnosis of the degradation and deterioration phenomena, conservation treatments, and monitoring based on light-material interaction processes. Recent progress on this subject was discussed during the 13th International Conference on Lasers in the Conservation of Artworks (LACONA XIII, Florence, Italy, 12-16 September 2022). This volume includes selected contributions presented at the conference on preservation topics, photonic techniques, and optimization methods. In particular, the papers focus on the development and use of innovative spectroscopic and imaging characterization techniques, the diagnostic knowledge of important artworks, and the optimization of the laser solution for preserving a growing variety of cultural assets, such as stone and metal artefacts, painted surfaces, textile, feather, and plastic artefacts. Lasers in the Conservation of Artworks XIII aims at scholars and operators of the community of preservation of cultural heritage, at teachers and students of training courses on diagnostic and conservation methods, applied physics, and chemistry, as well as archaeology and art history.