Welcome to the Archaeology Network of the Chinese Railroad Worker History Project, a transnational collaborative research endeavor based out of Stanford University. The Archaeology Network of the Chinese Railroad Worker History Project was created at the request of the Project organizers, Gordon H. Chang, Shelley Fisher Fishkin, and Hilton Obenzinger, to connect the Project with the large community of archaeologists who have been researching Chinese railroad workers and who are involved in managing the sites, collections, archives, and other materials that evidence that history. Dr. Barbara L. Voss, Associate Professor of Anthropology, is coordinating the network as a service to the Project. Archaeological evidence and research will play a key role in reconstructing the lives and histories of those who built and maintained the railroads.

If you are an archaeologist who would like to be a part of the Archaeology Network, please email Professor Barbara Voss at bvoss@stanford.edu.

 We highlight the following archeology publications of special interest — 

A special thematic issue of the journal, Historical Archaeology (49[1]), which was developed through a Project-sponsored workshop in October 2013. Click here for more information.

“Towards a Transpacific Archaeology of the Modern World” by Prof. Barbara Voss

A study of the historical archaeology of overseas Chinese communities, “Towards a Transpacific Archaeology of the Modern World.”

Abstract: The historical archaeology of overseas Chinese communities is a rapidly growing subfield. Although historical archaeology is not widely practiced in China, there are well-developed interdisciplinary research centers that investigate the history and culture of migrants’ qiaoxiang (hometown) societies. Scholars in American Studies programs throughout Asia are also bringing new perspectives to the study of Chinese migration past and present. By collaborating with these scholars, archaeologists on the Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project are developing new chronological, geographic, spatial, and material frameworks for the interpretation of overseas Chinese archaeological sites and landscapes.

Access through a library subscription to the International Journal of Historical Archaeology, or through the publisher.