Exploring The Merchandise Of The Pon Yam Store In Idaho City: What Do We Tell The Public About Chinese Olives And Dracontomelon?

Summary

The Boise National Forest and the Idaho City Historical Foundation formed a partnership to restore the Pon Yam Store to its original character as a nineteenth century Chinese merchant’s shop, and adapt the building for use as a museum and research center.  An opportunity to excavate under the floor boards in the store by FS archaeologists and volunteers provided a look at artifacts not usually found in archaeological sites due to a lack of preservation.  Firecrackers, incense sticks, and botanical remains were preserved in the dry soil under the boards.  The collected botanical remains included a vast number of Chinese olive seeds and a smaller number of an unknown seed eventually identified as Dracontomelon.  How rare are these Dracontomelon seeds in the archaeological record of the West?

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Unearthing the Gem State: Historical Archaeology in Idaho   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2015

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 430