Date of Award
8-2020
Document Type
Open Access Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Historical Archaeology
First Advisor
Stephen W. Silliman
Second Advisor
Nedra K. Lee
Third Advisor
Shirley S. Tang
Abstract
Chinese Diaspora archaeology has focused historically on urban contexts or in-depth case studies, with minimal comparative studies. To expand such research, this thesis is a multisited analysis in Oregon using archaeological assemblages from the Jacksonville Chinese Quarter and four remote Chinese mining camps, museum material collection from a Chinese store in John Day, and store ledgers written in Chinese and English dating to the late-19th century. By situating the research in the framework of race, this thesis seeks to understand the ways that race and racialization impacted market access and affected consumption choices for Chinese immigrants in different classes. Chinese communities had well established organizations in a complex network which contributed to controlling market access as well as serving to protect Chinese immigrants from impacts of racialization. These networks helped Chinese immigrants maintain a connection not only to other Chinese communities, but also to the homeland through various services including transfer of goods and people.
Recommended Citation
Lee, Jocelyn, "Small Towns and Mining Camps: An Analysis of Chinese Diasporic Communities in 19th-Century Oregon" (2020). Graduate Masters Theses. 648.
https://scholarworks.umb.edu/masters_theses/648
Included in
Archaeological Anthropology Commons, Asian American Studies Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons