Preface: As unlikely as it may seem, the construction of a new sports arena for the Phoenix Suns Basketball Association franchise provided the opportunity to study the history of the Chinese in Arizona and their role in economic and social development of the City of Phoenix. Thanks to Todd Bostwick, city archaeologist, Pueblo Grande Museum, who was responsible for pausing construction long enough to oversee the excavation and bring us what has now become known as the Chinatown Project which includes an exhibit at the America West Arena.
The Pattern of Chinatown Archaeology Projects (Continued)
Others have pointed out that although the percentage of females and family based households was small among the early Chinese immigrants, this was a pattern characteristic of much of the contemporaneous American West. We know of no good statistics regarding the number of Chinese who eventually returned to China as opposed to those who stayed, but Whitlow (1981 quoted in Praetzellis and others 1982) has specifically argued that the hypothesized sojourner mentality is an illusion and many of the Chinese immigrants came as settlers (also see Choy and others 1986).
One of the more insightful discussions of the forces that may have worked to maintain Chinese ethnic boundaries is the consideration of the role of Chinese merchants (Praetzellis and others 1987). Merchants were a relatively low status group in China, but in the American West they acquired prestige and wealth, in part because they served as brokers between the ethnic Chinese community and the dominant culture. It is suggested that the merchants had a stake in maintaining Chinese ethnic boundaries in order to limit competition from non-Chinese merchants among the Chinese population.
In sum, archaeological research of Chinatowns has made substantial progress in recognizing evidence of Chinese ethnicity in the archaeological record. The standard traits of Chinese deposits are remarkably consistent. However, there is a certain danger of circulatory in this regard. We define Chinese ethnicity on the basis of traits X, Y and Z and then conclude we have evidence of Chinese when we find X, Y and Z. Were traits X, Y and Z adopted by non-Chinese in some circumstances? As the Chinese adopted non-Chinese artifacts do they become invisible in the archaeological record?
The issues of acculturation and assimilation have been identified as research themes, but our understanding of the dynamics of these processes of culture change are still relatively superficial. However, we seem to be at the beginning of more refined analysis of the forces that served to maintain or erode ethnic boundaries. The challenge is to combine historical documentation and historical archaeological evidence to develop a more complete understanding of the role of Chinatowns in the American West.
Next month: Answers to research questions
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