The Practice of Seasonal Mining: Chinese Gold Miners at Island Mountain, Nevada

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Arming the Resistance: Recent Scholarship in Chinese Diaspora Archaeology" , at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Island Mountain was established in northeastern Nevada between 1873 and 1918, following the discovery of placer gold deposits nearby. The community was populated in part by Chinese migrants, working in the employ of a European American mining company whose owner actively sought to hire, as well as advocate for, Chinese workers. This paper looks to the documentary record and historiographical work on the site to reconstruct the relationships that characterized the community, and the ways in which Chinese residents experienced life in rural Nevada over the turn of the century. Archaeological investigations were conducted between 1999-2001, and this paper examines some under-reported aspects of the collection, including an assemblage likely associated with structure seasonally occupied by miners. While the material record, including clothing-related items and various metal objects, shares commonalities with similar assemblages, this research employs practice theory to place the material culture within the unique context of Island Mountain.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Arming the Resistance: Recent Scholarship in Chinese Diaspora Archaeology   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 399