DEAD CAT ALLEY: AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE OVERSEAS CHINESE OF WOODLAND, CALIFORNIA BY KAREN J. REICHARDT MA THESIS IN CULTURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT SONOMA STATE UNIVERSITY DECEMBER 2011 DEAD CAT ALLEY: AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE OVERSEAS CHINESE OF WOODLAND, CALIFORNIA by Karen 1. Reichardt A thesis submitted to Sonoma State University in partial fulfillment ofthe requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in Cultural Resources Management Dr. Adrian Praetzellis / 1/ItA,IJr Dr. RandaIrDodgen Erica S. GibSOQ, M.A. ~f) /'J()V~ toll Date Copyright 2011 By Karen J. Reichardt ii AUTHOIDZATION FOR REPRODUCTION OF MASTER'S TIlESIS I grant permission for the print or digital reproduction of this thesis in its entirety, without further authorization from me, on the condition that the person or agency requesting reproduction absorb the cost ~d provide proper acknowledgment of authorship. Signa{tire DATE(J4 tZ.j').Oil Street Address City, State, Zip iii DEAD CAT ALLEY: AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE OVERSEAS CHINESE OF WOODLAND, CALIFORNIA Thesis by Karen J. Reichardt ABSTRACT Purpose of the Study: Hoping to gain a better life for their families, Chinese men immigrated to California at the start of the Gold Rush in the mid-19th century. Despite prejudice and anti-Chinese legislation, the Chinese of California were a major force in the shaping of the American West by building the transcontinental railroad and using their farming prowess to establish California as one of the major agricultural giants of the United States. Once pushed from these roles, they moved into urban centers, settling into ethnic neighborhoods where they could maintain their cultural identities. The purpose of this study is to analyze the archaeological remains of a late-19th Chinese boarding house located in Woodland, California. Procedure: In order to fully understand the archaeological collection from Woodland, the assemblage was processed, identified, and analyzed using historical archaeological techniques. This information was compared to other Overseas Chinese archaeological collections to see how the Woodland assemblage relates to the known body of literature of the Chinese living in California. Findings: The artifacts recovered from Woodland’s Chinatown consisted of items of both Asian and European-American manufacture, including a large number of alcoholic beverage bottles. These artifacts were determined to be associated with a Chinese boarding house located on Dead Cat Alley in downtown Woodland. They were deposited in a cellar hole which was covered before the demolition of the building before 1910. Conclusions: The Chinese who deposited the artifacts on Dead Cat Alley were consuming a typical Chinese diet in which they used Asian-manufactured tableware. This was commonly seen in other Overseas Chinese collections. Where the Dead Cat Alley assemblage differs, however, is the large number of European-American ceramics found. The predominate occupations of the Chinese in Woodland at the time of iv the artifact deposition was that ofrestaurant cooks and hotel workers. It is believed that the large number of European-American ceramics contained within the collection is due to easy accessibility to hotel and restaurant cast-off items that were reused by the Chinese living in Dead Cat Alley. Chair: Signature MA Program: Cultural Resources Management Date: Sonoma State University t8~f}J11 v Acknowledgments I must take this opportunity to thank the many individuals who supported me in various ways throughout my graduate career. Dr. Adrian Praetzellis and Dr. Randall Dodgen provided an incredible amount of help on the content of this thesis. I am indebted to them both. Without their encyclopedic knowledge of late-19th and early-20th century ceramics and glass; their love of mending Chinese Brown Glaze Stoneware fragments; and their incredible wit, I would have never gotten the Dead Cat Alley artifacts identified and analyzed. To Erica S. Gibson and Michael D. Meyer, I thank you both. There are so many other people that have helped me get through my time at Sonoma State University by providing baked goods, camaraderie, and quite a bit of good-natured ribbing: Rut Ballesteros, Matthew Chan, Jan Coulter, Emily Darko, Kate Erickson, Craig and Rasa Fuller, Keith Green, Michael Konzak, Annamarie Leon Guerrero, Sandra Massey, Bryan Mischke, Kristina Montgomery, Michael Newland, Mary Praetzellis, Giovanna Rossetti, Naomi Scher, Elaine-Maryse Solari, and Marisa Solorzano. I must also thank my family. They understand the plight of the lowly graduate student and have provided me with many warm meals and the occasional dirty diaper: Emily, Paul, Jonah, Whitney, and Ella Reichardt. I must also thank my eldest niece, Maya Mazzagatti, for just being all-around awesome! Last, but certainly not least, I must thank my most cherished friend, David Blood. Without his constant and unwavering support I would have not gotten this far. vi Table of Contents Acknowledgments .................................................................................................................. vi Table of Figures ....................................................................................................................... ix Table of Charts ...........................................................................................................................x Chapter 1: Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Regulatory Background .................................................................................. 5 The Birth of Cultural Resources Management.........................................................................6 American Archaeology in the Early Nineteenth‐Century............................................................. 7 Evolution of Academic Archaeology to Cultural Resource Management............................... 8 Tennessee Valley Authority, River Basin Survey, and Salvage Archaeology........................ 9 Federal and State Legislation and CRM..............................................................................................10 Curation Crisis .................................................................................................................................. 13 Quelling the Crisis.......................................................................................................................................15 Curation Crisis in California....................................................................................................................16 Developing Solutions to the Crisis............................................................................................. 18 Dead Cat Alley and the Curation Crisis...............................................................................................20 Chapter 3: Historical Background....................................................................................22 The History of Yolo County .......................................................................................................... 23 The Founding of Woodland.....................................................................................................................25 Chinese Settlement in Woodland............................................................................................... 28 Life of Reuben Fitz ......................................................................................................................................35 The Political and Economic Environment of Guangdong Province............................... 36 Civil War and Strife in Guangdong.......................................................................................................39 Gold Mountain .................................................................................................................................. 40 Chinese Immigrants in the Mines.........................................................................................................41 Influence of the Chinese on California’s Changing Environment ............................................43 Chinese Exclusion and Discrimination...............................................................................................44 Paper Sons and the End of Exclusion..................................................................................................51 Chinatowns and Chinese American Identity.......................................................................... 52 Development of Chinatowns in the West..........................................................................................52 District, Family, and Benevolent Associations in Chinatown....................................................55 The Sojourner Hypothesis and the Chinese Immigrant ..............................................................57 Chinese American Identity......................................................................................................................59 Chapter 4: Overseas Chinese Research in Archaeology...........................................65 Defining the Overseas Chinese ................................................................................................... 65 The Early History of Overseas Chinese Archaeology.......................................................... 66 Early Overseas Chinese Archaeological Studies..................................................................