Commercial Connections in the Chinese Diaspora

Summary

What do Chinese work camps in the American West tell us about emergent capitalist networks in the mid-nineteenth century? This talk will draw upon current archaeological and ethnographic fieldwork as well as historical studies to contextualize the historical archaeology of Chinese railroad laborers. The extant archaeological remains found on work camps - hearths, ceramic sherds, game pieces, etc - only tell part of the story. A focus on remittances, and the transnational flow of cash, goods, bones and people, helps us understand the nature of the networks and strategies employed by nineteenth-century Chinese.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Being Chinese: Current Scholarship on the Chinese Diaspora in 19th-Century North America   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2016

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 470