A Chinese Camp in Nevada’s Cortez Mountains

Author(s): Robert W. McQueen

Year: 2017

Summary

Recorded in 1994 and excavated in 2009, site 26LA3061 is a late-19th century Chinese workmen’s camp located in the heart of central Nevada’s Cortez Mining District. The site had multiple habitations including dugouts, tent flats, and stone ruins, which yielded several interesting finds—the 6,000+ artifacts included domestic and foreign coins, lots of opium paraphernalia, and a lock of hair that underwent DNA testing. Cortez was infamous for its successful hiring of a large force of Chinese hardrock (underground) miners, and their presence in the district left a significant archaeological footprint. This paper shares the experiences of these workers.

Cite this Record

A Chinese Camp in Nevada’s Cortez Mountains. Robert W. McQueen. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Fort Worth, TX. 2017 ( tDAR id: 435385)

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Keywords

Temporal Keywords
19th Century

Spatial Coverage

min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 205