Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, large numbers of people from mainland China emigrated to the United States and other countries seeking employment. Termed "overseas Chinese," they made lasting contributions to the development of early communities, an impact which has only begun to be recognized in recent years. "Chinatowns," rural mining claims, work camps for railroad and other construction activities, salmon canneries and shrimp camps, laundries, stores, cook shacks, cemeteries, and temples are only some of the sites where traces of their presence can be found. In recent years, numerous archaeological and historical investigations of the overseas Chinese have taken place, and Hidden Heritage presents the results of some of those studies.
Topics range from urban sites in several states to structures and garden terraces in wild and scenic parts of Idaho, and include mining, artifacts, foodways, cannery workers, and women, as well as some comparative material for New Zealand. The closing chapter summarizes method and theory to date.
Ethnic identification of the Chinese presence is made easier by the fact that the artifacts found on overseas Chinese archaeological sites invariably include ones that were either brought with them or imported by them. Their table ceramics, food and alcoholic beverage containers, medicinal bottles, gambling-related objects, and opium-smoking paraphernalia are quite different in appearance from objects used by Euroamericans, and many of them are illustrated in the various chapters. Because of the variety of the subject matter, the sum of bibliographies is extensive; the book is also indexed.