TENNANT, Edward W. (University of Florida)
Contextualizing a Diaspora: A New Direction for the Historical
Archaeology of the Chinese Overseas.
Historical archaeologists have been conducting research into the Chinese
Overseas since the 1970s. These investigations have provided important
insights into early experiences of Chinese migrants in Australia, New Zealand,
and North America. This paper presents a summary of themes commonly
found throughout this work. New directions are presented that draw on the
assessment of loaded terminology uncritically used by other historical
archaeologists. Also, theoretical models such as assimilation and acculturation
are abandoned; and models such as hybridization, creolization, and
ethnogensis are explored to better understand the initial experiences of
Chinese in various locations, especially of those outside the above
geographical areas. The use of these more recent models is best
accomplished through the comparison of ethnohistorical and ethnographic
research in Guangdong and Fujian provinces. Unfortunately, data sought by
historical archaeologists from these emigrant areas is sparse. This is partially a
result of the fact that historical archaeologists ask different questions and seek
different data sets than cultural anthropologists, ethnographers, historians, or
migration studies. This paper concludes with a plan for the creation of
archaeological research programs in South China dating from the nineteenth
century, and the initiation of interdisciplinary dialogues between historical
archaeologists and other researchers.