Bøger udgivet af Texas A&M University Press

The archaeology of death and burial is central to our attempts to understand vanished societies. Through the remains of funerary rituals we learn not only about prehistoric people's attitudes toward death and the afterlife but also about their culture, social system, and world view. This ambitious book reviews the latest research in this huge and important field and describes the sometimes controversial interpretations that have led to our understanding of life and death in the distant past. Mike Parker Pearson draws on case studies from different periods and locations throughout the world--the Paleolithic in Europe and the Near East, the Mesolithic in northern Europe, and the Iron Age in Asia and Europe. He also uses evidence from precontact North America, ancient Egypt, and Madagascar, as well as from the Neolithic and Bronze Age in Britain and Europe, to reconstruct vivid pictures of both ancient and not so ancient funerary rituals. He describes the political and ethical controversies surrounding human remains and the problems of reburial, looting, and war crimes. The Archaeology of Death and Burial provides a unique overview and synthesis of one of the most revealing fields of research into the past, which creates a context for several of archaeology's most breathtaking discoveries--from Tutankhamen to the Ice Man. This volume will find an avid audience among archaeologists, anthropologists, historians, and others who have a professional interest in, or general curiosity about, death and burial.

During an inspection dive in 1980 along Israel's Mediterranean coast off of Kibbutz Hahotrim, Shelley Wachsmann, then Inspector of Antiquities for the Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums (now the Israel Antiquities Authority), discovered artifacts on a section of seabed swept clear of sand by a storm. Scattered around two large stone anchors, the finds consisted primarily of small, broken, or damaged pieces of metal artifacts and ingots. Late Bronze-Age Metal Artifacts off Hahotrim, Israel comprises the careful analysis of the materials by Wachsmann and ten collaborators. Examination of the artifacts, along with the context in which they were found, suggests that--rather than being all that remains of an undiscovered ancient wreck--the artifacts may have found their way to the seabed as jetsam dumped overboard by a crew hoping to extricate their vessel from a sand bar or other obstruction. As Wachsmann notes, the discovery and study of this humble group of artifacts provides evidence of a vibrant culture of maritime commerce that existed in the Late Bronze-Age Mediterranean world prior to its collapse. Positing the existence of a "dynamic international period when a system of land and sea trade routes stretched from Sardinia in the west to Iran in the east, spanning roughly a tenth of the earth's circumference," this careful analysis adds important context to our evolving understanding of the interconnectedness of the Mediterranean world at a pivotal moment in history.

The matriarch of one of the most important families in Texas history, Petra Vela Kenedy has remained a shadowy presence in the annals of South Texas. In this biography of Petra Vela Kenedy, the authors not only tell her story but also relate the history of South Texas through a woman's perspective. Utilizing previously unpublished letters, journals, photographs, and other primary materials, the authors reveal the intimate stories of the families who for years dominated governments, land acquisition, commerce, and border politics along the Rio Grande and across the Wild Horse Desert. From Petra's early life in the landed ranchero society of northern Mexico, through her alliance with Luis Vidal--an officer in the Mexican army to whom she bore eight children--until her move to Brownsville after Vidal's death, Petra lived in Mexico. When she moved to Texas, having taken Vidal's name, she represented a link to the landed families of the region. Mifflin Kenedy, a steamboat captain who had first come to Texas during the Mexican War, married into her world, acquiring local respectability and stature when he took Petra as his wife. The story of their life together encompasses war, the taming of a frontier, the blending of cultures, the origin of a ranching empire, and the establishment of a foundation and trust that still endure today, giving millions to Texas through charitable gifts. An attractive woman of business acumen, strong religious convictions, and intense family loyalty, Petra Vela Kenedy's influence through her husband and her children left a legacy whose exploration is long overdue.

Setting out to write an "entertaining collection of tales" about his childhood home in Fannin County, Texas, journalist Mackie Morris has created what one reviewer calls "a nostalgic memoir" in which "Morris has cleared out a field all to himself." Morris connects historical figures such as Davy Crockett, James Fannin, Sam Rayburn, and James Bonham with stories from his childhood involving "a talented but tortured evangelist," a blind cotton inspector, shoplifted prophylactics, "pellet football," and a host of other colorful characters and events. County Lines: An Americana Anthology reveals "how the lines that connect Fannin County folks to their history also connect them to each other." A skilled storyteller, Morris has assembled this collection with affectionate attention to the unique people, circumstances, and facts that create the connections celebrated in this book. "Always and forever it is the people who cause a collection of data points to become a true story," he says. "And the best stories engage our emotions, offer a surprise or two, and teach us something." County Lines delivers on Morris's stated aims. His tales of adventure, humor, heroism, mischief, and determination offer readers a deeper appreciation of their own connections spanning the past and present. For readers of Texana and those who enjoy well-told stories of "small town America," County Lines promises hours of entertainment and enrichment.

"Originally published as L'archâeologie navale by Editions Errance/Actes Sud (Arles, France) in 2005, this new revised and expanded edition is in a condensed and accessible form that highlights many of the principles currently guiding research in nautical archaeology around the world. Well suited for classrooms and providing a handy reference for more advanced scholars and researchers, Pomey and Rieth's Nautical Archaeology offers, most notably, emphasis on theoretical and conceptual aspects of the evolution of shipbuilding that are largely unfamiliar in the English-speaking academy. The authors begin with a chapter on basic definitions and statements of the principal issues involved in the discipline before proceeding with a discussion of available sources of information, from ancient iconography to modern excavation, embracing shipbuilding treatises of the Middle Ages and Renaissance along the way. Next, they document the various methods and procedures available to researchers as they observe, document, and study the remains of vessels. Finally, they draw conclusions about directions for future research, along with perspectives on the field of study"--

Home gardens, in addition to providing sustenance and satisfaction, embody a sense of self identity. In this groundbreaking work on Vietnamese foodways, Farm-to-Freedom: Vietnamese Americans and Their Food Gardens brings to light how the Vietnamese diasporic population in Texas uses gardens literally and figuratively to set down roots in a new country. These gardens, often hidden in plain sight, establish the seat of Vietnamese immigrant culture, according to author Roy Francis Vũ. They can also offer Vietnamese Americans an empowering pathway to forging a new homeland duality by retaining ties to the foods and environs they drew comfort from in Vietnam. Farm-to-Freedom uses the concept of emancipatory foodways as a lens into gardens that serve a semi-palliative purpose by succoring the experienced tragedies of war and exile for Vietnamese immigrants and Vietnamese Americans, which arguably adds another dimension to the importance of the home garden. Vũ covers topics including but not limited to culinary citizenship, food democracy, culinary justice, and food sovereignty. Farm-to-Freedom reveals how these gardens not only provide those who tend them a greater sense of security and agency in an unfamiliar land but also give them the means to preserve and expand Vietnamese cuisine for themselves while simultaneously enriching food culture in the United States. With a wealth of original oral histories, community-based recipes and poetry, and photographs of home gardens in suburban and urban settings, Farm-to-Freedom provides a deeper understanding of the Vietnamese diaspora in Texas for scholars, professionals, and general readers alike.

"A deeply meaningful collection that navigates important nuances of identity."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review 2021 Texas Book Festival Featured Book Bronze Medal for Anthologies, Independent Publisher Book Awards 2023 Nepantla Familias brings together Mexican American narratives that explore and negotiate the many permutations of living in between different worlds--how the authors or their characters create, or fail to create, a cohesive identity amid the contradictions in their lives. Nepantla--or living in the in-between space of the borderland--is the focus of this anthology. The essays, poems, and short stories explore the in-between moments in Mexican American life--the family dynamics of living between traditional and contemporary worlds, between Spanish and English, between cultures with traditional and shifting identities. In times of change, family values are either adapted or discarded in the quest for self-discovery, part of the process of selecting and composing elements of a changing identity. Edited by award-winning writer and scholar Sergio Troncoso, this anthology includes works from familiar and acclaimed voices such as David Dorado Romo, Sandra Cisneros, Alex Espinoza, Reyna Grande, and Francisco Cantú, as well as from important new voices, such as Stephanie Li, David Dominguez, and ire'ne lara silva. These are writers who open and expose the in-between places: through or at borders; among the past, present, and future; from tradition to innovation; between languages; in gender; about the wounds of the past and the victories of the present; of life and death. Nepantla Familias shows the quintessential American experience that revives important foundational values through immigrants and the children of immigrants. Here readers will find a glimpse of contemporary Mexican American experience; here, also, readers will experience complexities of the geographic, linguistic, and cultural borders common to us all. Includes the work of David Dorado Romo Reyna Grande Francisco Cantú Rigoberto González Alex Espinoza Domingo Martinez Oscar Cásares Lorraine M. López David Dominguez Stephanie Li Sheryl Luna José Antonio Rodríguez Deborah Paredez Diana Marie Delgado Diana López Severo Perez Octavio Solis ire'ne lara silva Rubén Degollado Helena María Viramontes Daniel Chacón Matt Mendez

Equal parts memoir, adventure tale, and call to action, Sea Change: A Message of the Oceans has become a classic of environmental literature, at once the gripping adventure story of Earle's three decades of undersea exploration, an insider's introduction to the dynamic field of marine biology, and an urgent plea for the preservation of the world's deteriorating ocean ecosystems. Featuring a gallery of color photographs and a new preface by Earle, this edition of Sea Change arrives at a uniquely pivotal time when its message is needed more than ever before.

"Cast as the author's "swan song" on the topic of bird migration, this lively account of the life's work of distinguished ornithologist John H. Rappole will delight birders, researchers, and general readers alike. The developer and chief proponent of the "dispersal theory" of bird migration, Rappole takes readers on a tour of the decades-long process by which he developed the conclusions that led him to propose a counter to the still-widely accepted "northern home," or weather-based theory of migration. Along the way, Migration Mysteries: Adventures, Disasters, and Epiphanies in a Life with Birds delivers for readers, both specialist and general, everything promised in the subtitle. In a delightfully non-technical style, Rappole introduces readers to the people, the places, the quandaries, and even the dangers encountered during the years he spent in Mexico, Central America, and the United States, studying the migration patterns of birds. His account is also a wake-up call for conservation in Latin America he watches the habitats for migratory birds disappear year by year"--

In 1973, a forty-year-old country musician named Willie Nelson, inspired by a failed music festival the year before, decided he was going to hold his own party. He would stage it in the same remote and rocky field where the previous festival had withered. And he'd do it in July: not the hottest part of the Central Texas summer, but "damn sure close enough," according to music journalist Dave Dalton Thomas. As unlikely as it seemed in 1973, Willie kept the event going, minus a year off here and there, for half a century. Thomas has attended nearly every Willie Nelson Fourth of July Picnic since 1995, finding joy in an event some music reporters have compared to "death marches and prison labor." For the last 20 years, Thomas has researched the history of the Picnic, chronicling the brutal heat and the quirky and sometimes illegal antics of fans, musicians, and others. Thomas has watched the Picnic evolve over the decades, as Willie and his audience have evolved. He has interviewed participants, including artists, organizers, promoters, and even a few colorful hangers-on. While reviewing ten of the Picnics in detail--each chosen for its significance in the overarching development of the event--Thomas also includes basic facts about each gathering, from the beginning to the present, with the addition of pertinent information about the "off years," when the Picnic was on temporary hiatus for one reason or another. In his introduction, Thomas quotes country musician Johnny Bush as he recalls trying to talk Nelson out of the notion of holding the first Picnic. "Willie, there ain't no way in hell a bunch of cowboys are going to come out in the hundred-degree heat to watch us pick our guitars." As Thomas records them, Bush's next words were "he proved me wrong."

"There are a few remaining wild places in Texas, notes author and nature educator Michael A. Smith, and exposure to these locales-from the high deserts and mountains of the Big Bend to the prairies and grasslands across the center of the state and the Piney Woods and Big Thicket of East Texas-can be restorative, both emotionally and physically. In this thoughtful tour of Texas ecoregions, Smith-also a licensed psychological associate-weaves perceptive prose, prompts, and meditations with evocative nature photography by Meghan Cassidy to create a guide for readers that promotes both greater appreciation of Texas nature and greater mindfulness of our place in the natural environment and its holistic importance to our wellbeing. Mindfulness in Texas Nature briefly explores the history of seven Texas ecoregions and discusses the benefits to health and wellbeing that are gained by spending time in nature. Written for readers who may not have a technical background in biology but who want to understand and experience nature at a deeper level, this book models mindfulness-experiencing oneself and surroundings in a fully-present, attuned, and nonjudgmental way-as an ideal practice for experiencing the woods, mountains, or wetlands of Texas. Illustrated throughout with beautiful photographs of woodlands, prairies, streams, flowers, and animals, Mindfulness in Texas Nature encourages readers to experience for themselves what makes these places special, how to get the most out of the time spent there, and how to plan meaningful visits to the many beautiful and significant natural areas across Texas."--

"Born in San Antonio, Texas, in 1941, acclaimed filmmaker Severo Perez moved to Los Angeles in 1972 to pursue a career in the motion picture industry. His films have won numerous awards, including five CINE Golden Eagles. Perez is also an accomplished playwright and novelist. Filmmaker's Journey offers valuable insights into the life and work of this influential and visionary artist. Perez's 1995 film . . . and the Earth Did Not Swallow Him, perhaps his best-known work, is adapted from Tomâas Rivera's classic 1971 Chicano novel . . . y no se lo tragâo la tierra. The film follows the lives of a South Texas family of migrant farmworkers in the 1950s. Perez's nuanced, powerful film beautifully evokes the substance and spirit of Rivera's work, and it has won international critical acclaim, including top honors at film festivals worldwide. Some of these include the Sol Award at the 1995 CineSol Latino Film Festival, Best Feature Film at the San Diego Independent Film Festival, and Best Feature Film at the Minneapolis Rivertown Film Festival. Filmmaker's Journey recounts Perez's winding path toward building a career as an independent filmmaker. Beginning with the events accompanying the first week of production for . . . and the Earth Did Not Swallow Him-which coincided with the riots incited by the Rodney King verdict on April 29, 1992-then picking up the thread of his Westside San Antonio upbringing and his early fascination with making movies, Perez recounts his experiences with the small art houses, the obscure film collectives, and the move to Los Angeles that would eventually launch his forty-five-year career producing programming for PBS, cable, and network television."--

Covering the period from World War II through the Trump presidency, Peace, War, and Partnership: Congress and the Military since World War II unpacks the vital and dynamic relationship between Congress and the military, two entities that have worked together, at times with different purposes, to solve myriad important issues impacting the United States in both peace and war. Congress and the military have had their periods of cooperation. However, they have also had alternating periods of resistance to each other, based on distinct conceptions of national interests and divergent strategies. Their partnership has been a symbiotic relationship in which one entity or the other has ebbed and flowed in power depending on the circumstances. They have altered each other in far-reaching ways and transformed American society as a result of their liaisons. Peace, War, and Partnership analyzes the significant, powerful, and central relationship between Congress and the military. It investigates intersections of policy, politics, and society to theorize the impact of this relationship on the United States in the modern era. This work also offers a better understanding of earlier attempts by policy makers in Congress and the military to provide national security, contextualizing highly relevant current issues such as military service, proliferation, foreign intervention, national security, joint operations, diplomacy, alliances, mobilization, post-conflict resolution, citizenship, and military innovation. It illuminates crucial questions involving military policies in American democracy, and their sway on America historically and today, sparking and informing public debate about its implications now and for the future.

In the aftermath of World War II, the United States experienced a rapid expansion of church and synagogue construction as part of a larger "religious boom." The synagogues built in that era illustrate how their designs pushed the envelope in aesthetics and construction. The design of the synagogues departed from traditional concepts, embraced modernism and innovations in building technology, and evolved beyond the formal/rational style of early 1950s modern architecture to more of an expressionistic design. The latter resulted in abstraction of architectural forms and details, and the inclusion of Jewish art in the new synagogues. The Architecture of Modern American Synagogues, 1950s-1960s introduces an architectural analysis of selected modern American synagogues and reveals how they express American Jewry's resilience in continuing their physical and spiritual identity, while embracing modernism, American values, and landscape. In addition, the book contributes to the discourse on preserving the recent past (e.g., mid 20th century architecture). While most of the investigations on that topic deal with the "brick & mortar" challenges, this book introduces preservation issues as a function of changes in demographics, in faith rituals, in building codes, and in energy conservation. As an introduction or a reexamination, The Architecture of Modern American Synagogues, 1950s-1960s offers a fresh perspective on an important moment in American Jewish society and culture as reflected in their houses of worship and adds to the literature on modern American sacred architecture. The book may appeal to Jewish congregations, architects, preservationists, scholars, and students in fields of studies such as architectural design, sacred architecture, American modern architecture and building technology, Post WWII religious and Jewish studies, and preservation and conservation.

El Curso de la Raza: The Education of Aurelio Manuel Montemayor tells the story of Chicano activist and self-described fronterizo Aurelio Manuel Montemayor, whose dual identities as an educator and political organizer informed his hitherto little-known role in developing a course, or curso, that cultivated Chicano leadership from the barrios. This memoir follows Montemayor during the formative periods of his life--his education, his teaching career, his political awakening--to describe the development of his critical consciousness in 1960s America. The book combines the personal and the political, leading readers along a journey of self-discovery that results in Montemayor's most consequential, yet relatively unknown, contribution to el movimiento, the Curso de la Raza. Along the way, Montemayor grapples with his Mexican and American identities, foregoes his literary pursuits in favor of uplifting la raza, and navigates the pitfalls of movement politics. From marching with the Mexican American Youth Organization to cofounding the first independent Chicano college, Colegio Jacinto Treviño, he recounts lesser-known events and projects of Chicano activism in South Texas. In doing so, he provides a more complete portrait of the Chicano movement through the lens of an educator-turned-activist from the borderlands. In El Curso de la Raza, Montemayor contextualizes his critical consciousness for twenty-first-century audiences. Much like the goals of the Curso, the book aims to educate readers about deriving pedagogy from oppression, historicity from personality, and contemporary insights from past shortcomings.

One of the most important themes in US history is the series of struggles that transformed the Southwest from a Spanish to an American possession: the Texas Revolution of 1836 and the Mexican-American War of 1845. But what if historians have been overlooking a key event that led to these wars--another war almost entirely unknown--that took place on what is now US soil and dramatically shaped the development of the American Southwest to this day? The true story of this war, presented in The Lost War for Texas: Mexican Rebels, American Burrites, and the Texas Revolution of 1811, is only now being revealed by never-before-published research, which will challenge paradigms and reshape much of what we know about United States, Texas, and even Mexican history. In the early 1800s, the impact of the Napoleonic Wars rippled across the Atlantic. Within weeks of the United States's declaration of war on England in 1812, hundreds of western militia forces rallied to a flag and marched boldly to war--but not for the United States. They instead invaded the province of Texas to make common cause with Mexican rebels who had launched their struggle against the Spanish monarchy the year before. The resulting war changed the Southwest forever. Author James Aalan Bernsen places a spotlight on division and separatism at this pivotal moment of the "second revolution" of the United States. The Lost War for Texas, by revealing the forgotten world of 1811-1812 will profoundly change how we understand the birth of the American Southwest.

Captain Henry Gillespie (1857-1937), of Portland, Maine, went to sea as a young man of 17, serving as "able-bodied seaman" on a New Bedford whaler. Over the next 47 years he would advance to deck officer, then master of sailing and steam ships. He was commissioned as an officer in the US Navy during World War I, commanding vessels operating in the war zone. Following the war, he returned to merchant marine service until his retirement in 1921. Maritime historian Michael Jay Mjelde has chronicled the colorful life and career of this "down-east" man of the sea, mining available first-person accounts, interviews with family members, government records, and maritime archives on both coasts. The result is a narrative in clear, highly engaging prose that puts readers on the tilting decks and noisy wharfs frequented by Gillespie. Through Mjelde's retelling of a remarkable life, the age of clipper ships, the Cape Horn trade, and oceangoing steamers comes into vivid relief, affording a richly embossed assessment of Captain Gillespie's life and times. From Whaler to Clipper Ship adds a layer of full-bodied context to our understanding of this pivotal era in American maritime history. The wealth of detail will appeal to scholars, students, and maritime history enthusiasts.

Celeste Bedford Walker, one of the most accomplished contemporary playwrights in Texas, crafts dramas from history and everyday life that illuminate the African American experience in all its variety, tragedy, pathos, and hilarity. Collected here are five of her most acclaimed plays: Sassy Mamas, Greenwood: An American Dream Destroyed, Reunion in Bartersville, Distant Voices, and Camp Logan. The topics treated by Walker are timelier than ever. Sassy Mamas follows "three women of substance and of a certain age who flip the script on gender stereotypes and become involved with younger men." Greenwood: An American Dream Destroyed tells the powerful story of the horrific attack on the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma, once known as the "Black Wall Street." In Reunion in Bartersville, described by Walker as "a comedy-mystery in two acts," the 50-year class reunion of Bartersville High School turns to hilarious suspense when an unexpected guest arrives. Recipient of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Distant Voices "resurrects" persons buried in College Memorial Park, the second-oldest African American cemetery in Houston, to celebrate the wisdom of those gone before. Camp Logan is based on real-life events in Houston in 1917, when members of the highly decorated 24th Infantry Regiment were subjected to brutal Jim Crow treatment, resulting in a riot that left dozens dead and the execution of seventeen African American soldiers for mutiny. Readers and audiences should be prepared to laugh out loud, to be challenged, to be disturbed, and above all, to be enlightened by this poignant collection of plays.

The Texas shooting at Santa Fe High School on May 18, 2018, which killed ten and injured thirteen, prompted public debate over the causes and potential solutions to this type of violent episode. On May 21, 2018, National Rifle Association president Oliver North declared that a culture of violence is largely responsible for these killings. "The problem that we've got is we're trying like the dickens to treat the symptom without treating the disease. . . . The disease is youngsters who are steeped in a culture of violence." This debate has captivated the American media and general public for decades. Texas history is steeped in brutality and bloodshed, creating a narrative that these conditions are still a vital part of the state's culture in the twenty-first century. But perceptions of violence are often at odds with realities on the ground. Over several centuries, violence has decreased with the development of modern society, but popular perception seems to be that a culture of violence has emerged, and perhaps persisted despite demographic, economic, cultural, and political shifts in Texas. Starting from the notion that a culture of violence existed historically in the state and asking if such a culture still persists in modern Texas, this collection of essays examines trends associated with various types of violence within the state as well as social and political responses from 1965 to 2020. This important and timely work provides valuable context for discussions on violence in the past and for the future.

The saga of Caligula's barges sunk in Lake Nemi south of Rome--how the huge vessels came to be there in the first place; why they became a cause célèbre for Mussolini's Fascist regime; how they were, after multiple attempts, recovered from the lake bed; and why they were shortly thereafter destroyed--is, in the words of author John McManamon, a good story that is worth telling: "It has memorable characters, twists and turns in the plot, no lack of conflict and tension, and a dramatic ending where something clearly went wrong." In From Caligula to the Nazis: The Nemi Ships in Diana's Sanctuary, McManamon takes readers on an excursion through history to the fiery ending of the tale, a journey propelled by narrative energy and enhanced by the fruits of careful research. Related topics include Roman mythology and state religion, the erratic reign of the infamous Caligula, underwater archaeology as practiced during the Renaissance, the ideological exploitation of archaeology by Il Duce and his fascist followers, and a historical whodunit to ascertain the choices that led to the arson of the ship remains. McManamon covers every chapter in the 2,000-year history of the ships and does not ignore the mistaken interpretations that at times led subsequent researchers into blind alleys. In the end, From Caligula to the Nazis provides for both academic specialists and informed general readers the careful unwinding of a centuries-long mystery, replete with heroes, villains, gods, kings, and numerous ordinary folk swept up into the maelstrom.

In January 1982, archaeologists conducting a pre-construction excavation at 175 Water Street in Lower Manhattan found the remains of an eighteenth-century ship. Uncertain what they had found or what its significance might be, they called in nautical archaeologists Warren Riess and Sheli Smith to direct the excavation and analysis of the ship's remains. As it turned out, the mystery ship's age and type meant that its careful study helped answer some important questions about commerce and transportation of its day. Given only one winter month for fieldwork, the large crew excavated and recorded the site, which became known as the "Ronson ship site," named for the site's developer, Howard Ronson. At the end of their time in the field, the crew was able to save the first eighteen feet of the bow for preservation. For Riess, the analysis and conservation of the artifacts would begin. In this book, the follow-up to his 2014 publication The Ship That Held Up Wall Street, Riess presents the technical analysis of the vessel, which he believes to be the Princess Carolina, a merchant ship likely constructed by shipwright Benjamin Austin in Charleston, South Carolina, in the early 1700s. In doing so, he fills significant gaps in contemporary knowledge of eighteenth-century shipbuilding techniques. Though meticulous in scientific detail, Riess's style is eminently readable for interested general readers.

Early hunter-gatherers in North America spent significant time and energy to secure a reliable food supply. One means of doing so involved the use of large-scale traps--rock and/or wood features constructed through group or communal effort to trap or ambush migrating artiodactyls such as bighorn sheep or pronghorn antelope. Designed to concentrate large numbers of prey animals for easier slaughter, large-scale traps also open an important window for the study of prehistoric social patterns involved in the design, construction, and successful capture of large game en masse--alliance building, trade, revelry, match making, and other cultural activities. This important new research from Bryan Hockett and Eric Dillingham examines the archaeological evidence for large-scale traps over the past 9,000 years in North America's Great Basin. The authors provide field identification methods, hard data, and archaeological examples of game trap features, focusing their inquiry on the Great Basin region of eastern California, western Utah, and Nevada. Large-scale trap features are found worldwide, and wherever they are found, they exhibit similar characteristics. The first comprehensive book devoted to describing large-scale traps across the entire Great Basin, this work is among the first to provide such a depth of research for any region, anywhere in the world. Ample color illustrations as well as informative maps, drawings, and tables enhance this careful study of ancient communal hunting practices. Offering important insights drawn from some of the oldest large-scale trap structures in the world, Large-Scale Traps of the Great Basin will occupy an important place in the literature of the early inhabitants of North America.

Many books and essays have addressed the broad sweep of Texas music--its multicultural aspects, its wide array and blending of musical genres, its historical transformations, and its love/hate relationship with Nashville and other established music business centers. This book, however, focuses on an essential thread in this tapestry: the Texas singer-songwriters to whom the contributors refer as "ruthlessly poetic." All songs require good lyrics, but for these songwriters, the poetic quality and substance of the lyrics are front and center. Obvious candidates for this category would include Townes Van Zandt, Michael Martin Murphey, Guy Clark, Steve Fromholz, Terry Allen, Kris Kristofferson, Vince Bell, and David Rodriguez. In a sense, what these songwriters were doing in small, intimate live-music venues like the Jester Lounge in Houston, the Chequered Flag in Austin, and the Rubaiyat in Dallas was similar to what Bob Dylan was doing in Greenwich Village. In the language of the times, these were "folksingers." Unlike Dylan, however, these were folksingers writing songs about their own people and their own origins and singing in their own vernacular. This music, like most great poetry, is profoundly rooted. That rootedness, in fact, is reflected in the book's emphasis on place and the powerful ways it shaped and continues to shape the poetry and music of Texas singer-songwriters. From the coffeehouses and folk clubs where many of the "founders" got their start to the Texas-flavored festivals and concerts that nurtured both their fame and the rise of a new generation, the indelible stamp of origins is inseparable from the work of these troubadour-poets. Contents Introduction, by Craig Clifford and Craig D. Hillis 1 Part One. The First Generation: Folksingers, Texas Style Too Weird for Kerrville: The Darker Side of Texas Music 17 Craig Clifford Townes Van Zandt: The Anxiety, Artifice, and Audacity of Influence 27 Robert Earl Hardy Vignette--The Ballad of Willis Alan Ramsey 36 Bob Livingston Guy Clark: Old School Poet of the World 39 Tamara Saviano Kris Kristofferson: The Silver-Tongued Rhodes Scholar 49 Peter Cooper Vignette--Don Henley: Literature, Land, and Legacy 59 Kathryn Jones Steven Fromholz, Michael Martin Murphey, and Jerry Jeff Walker: Poetic in Lyric, Message, and Musical Method 61 Craig D. Hillis Vignette--Kinky Friedman: The Mel Brooks of Texas Music 83 Craig Clifford Billy Joe Shaver: Sin and Salvation Poet 85 Joe Holley One Man's Music: Vince Bell 92 Joe Nick Patoski Vignette--Ray Wylie Hubbard: Grifter, Ruffian, Messenger 101 Jenni Finlay The Great Progressive Country Scare of the 1970s 103 Craig D. Hillis (interview with Gary P. Nunn) Plenty Else to Do: Lyrical Lubbock 109 Andy Wilkinson Roots of Steel: The Poetic Grace of Women Texas Singer-Songwriters 115 Kathryn Jones From Debauched Yin to Mellow Yang: A Circular Trip through the Texas Music Festival Scene 136 Jeff Prince Vignette--Bobby Bridger: "Heal in the Wisdom," Creating a Classic 145 Craig D. Hillis (interview with Bobby Bridger) Interlude: What Do We Do with Willie? 148 --I. Willie (An Early Encounter) 148 Craig D. Hillis --II. Willie (On Everything) 151 >Part Two. The Second Generation: Garage Bands, Large Bands, and Other Permutations "Gettin' Tough" Steve Earle's America 161 Jason Mellard Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen: Cosmic Aggies 166 Jan Reid Vignette--Walt Wilkins: Spirituality and Generosity 174 Craig Clifford (interview with Tim Jones) Lucinda Williams: Poet of Places in the Heart 176 Kathryn Jones Rodney Crowell: Looking Inward, Looking Outward 185 John T. Davis Vignette--Sam Baker: Short Stories in Song 192 Robert Earl Hardy James McMurtry: Too Long in the Wasteland 193 >Part Three. Epilogue: Passing of the Torch? Drunken Poet's Dream: Hayes Carll 203 --I. Good Enough for Old Guys 203 Craig Clifford --II. Good Enough for Young Guys 207 Brian T. Atkinson Roll On: Terri Hendrix 209 Brian T. Atkinson From Riding Bulls to Dead Horses: Ryan Bingham 212 Craig Clifford (interview with Shaina Post) Bad Girl Poet: Miranda Lambert 218 Craig Clifford Challenge to Bro Country: Kacey Musgraves 221 Grady Smith Beyond the Rivers 224 > Notes 231 Selected Sources 233 Contributors 243 Index 251