Beyond the total : identifying inter- and intra-site variation through ceramic artefacts at Chinese goldmining settlements in Southeast New South Wales, mid-nineteenth to early-twentieth centuries

Abstract

This research examines ceramic collections from overseas Chinese mining settlements in southeast New South Wales, including those from Jembaicumbene, Flanagan's Point, Upper Adelong, Adjungbilly, and Kiandra. The analysis seeks to identify differences within and between these settlements, which were occupied from the mid-nineteenth to the early-twentieth century. In addition, collections from non-Chinese sites in the same region are compared to those of the Chinese. On a broader scale, the research considers the nature of Chinese supply networks. This dissertation uses traditional and non-traditional methods of ceramic analysis to answer major questions, which expand the archaeology of Chinese in Australia. The analyses enable conclusions to be drawn about the active role of vessels in everyday life, not only within the domestic sphere but also in communal aspects of food and feasting. This research provides an understanding of the broader social and economic characteristics of the Chinese population, through the assessment of the differing roles of specific buildings, such as temples, communal ovens and stores, as well as the variation over time in the domestic use of vessels. The analyses provide an insight into the Chinese supply of ceramics and foodstuffs and demonstrate how Western-style ceramics became appropriate substitutes, as those systems changed. This research is the first intra-site analysis of Chinese camps in Australia and also the first to compare contemporary ceramic assemblages from Chinese and non-Chinese sites in the same region. Furthermore, compositional analysis of Chinese sherds has added another dimension, as it has shown that visual similarities do not necessarily relate to chemical similarities. It was previously thought that all brown-glazed storage jars on overseas Chinese sites were made in southern China; but this research, reveals that some of these vessels may have come from northern China. This research has looked beyond the total and highlighted short and long-term occupation sites. These camps were not homogenous or static settlements, they changed over time.