The Tamaulipan Biotic Province (TBP) is an ecotonal community that has been characterized in the twentieth century as a mixture of plains, woodland, and desert-adapted mammalian taxa. Some authors have proposed that this heterogeneous mixture of animals is a result of human influence on the environment in the post-European contact period. Others have proposed that the characteristically disharmonious mixture of fauna has been present in south Texas since prehistory. By considering the presence of certain key taxa across the archaeological record of the area this thesis demonstrates that the fauna characteristic of the Tamaulipan Biotic Province can be followed back in time as far as the archaeological record allows. This work also provides complete lists of all vertebrate organisms present in the archaeological record of the area, organized by time period and also by archaeological site and citation.

The Tamaulipan Biotic Province (TBP) is an ecotonal community that has been characterized in the twentieth century as a mixture of plains, woodland, and desert-adapted mammalian taxa. Some authors have proposed that this heterogeneous mixture of animals is a result of human influence on the environment in the post-European contact period. Others have proposed that the characteristically disharmonious mixture of fauna has been present in south Texas since prehistory. By considering the presence of certain key taxa across the archaeological record of the area this thesis demonstrates that the fauna characteristic of the Tamaulipan Biotic Province can be followed back in time as far as the archaeological record allows. This work also provides complete lists of all vertebrate organisms present in the archaeological record of the area, organized by time period and also by archaeological site and citation.

The excavation of Sieur de la Salle's ship, La Belle, yielded a large amount of waterlogged rope requiring conservation. A history of hemp and rope manufacture is reviewed to assist in the identification of the materials and rope-work recovered from the La Belle, as well as to assist in selecting an appropriate conservation treatment. A summary of several methods used to conserve cordage is presented. Time has shown that not all of these treatment methods have remained viable options, and that continued study and experimentation are needed so that the conservator has the tools to develop an appropriate conservation plan for each artifact. The majority of La Belle's cordage was conserved using the passivation polymers method developed by Dr. C. Wayne Smith and Dr. Donny L. Hamilton, both of Texas A&M University, in conjunction with Dow Corning Corporation, Midland, Michigan. An experiment applying knowledge gleaned from the passivation polymers process to polyethylene glycol (PEG) impregnation was conducted in an attempt to stabilize the PEG within the rope. The results were good; the rope retained some flexibility and appears stable with a slightly darker color than with silicone oil.