Chinese mining communities lost in the past: the role of archeology in bringing the intinerant into the present

Abstract

Community is often considered as operating primarily in an established physical or geographical space. Temporal and psychological factors however play a large role in establishing communities of interest based on the existence of common values strengthened by social cohesiveness. This paper explores the concept of 'community' based on focus rather than locus. In the latter half of the nineteenth century Chinese 'sojourners' worked at gold mining sites in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The itinerancy of the Chinese miners, the gender imbalance of the gold fields, the 'otherness' that was attached to their presence on what was invariably regarded as being exclusively European domains and the tendency for the Chinese to work cooperatively are all factors that contributed to a need for the Chinese to be able to internalize their sense of community. The majority of the primary information for the Chinese on goldfields comes from European newspapers accounts of their activities and often contains a heavy bias. Archaeological work at several sites in Australia, New Zealand and in Canada has revealed insights into the communities that formed and dispersed as the fortunes of the gold fields waxed and waned. Artefactual evidence indicates that the retention of strong socio-cultural identifiers was accomplished through the establishment of trade networks. The ability of the Chinese miners to keep in touch with their homeland villages via kin-ship patterns also contributed greatly to their sense of community on the remote gold fields as did their continued use of familiar foods, products and established customs. By surrounding themselves with the familiar the Chinese miners managed to transport community within themselves, establishing the physical parameters as required.