An Archaeology of Asian Transnationalism

7. Asian Migrants as Transnational Consumers

177 7 Asian Migrants as Transnational Consumers This final chapter brings together the various threads and lines of thought developed throughout the book on the nature of overseas Asian migration , and offers some specific and more general interpretations of the everyday lives of Chinese and Japanese cannery workers on Don and Lion Islands and of other Asian diaspora communities. I begin by drawing explicit comparisons of consumer habits between the two camps based on archaeological and archival data. Next, I expand my discussion to examine where migrants acquired these material goods, factors affecting choices about and access to goods, evidence of long-term purchasing patterns, and the role of material culture in the construction and maintenance of transnational and diasporic identities. I then conclude by reiterating the value of transnational and diasporic approaches to archaeological and material culture studies of displaced populations (and vice versa) and offer suggestions for future research. Patterns of Consumer Behavior Based on data presented in the previous two chapters, both sites exhibit a similar range of domestic and work-related objects, including a predominance of artifacts associated with food and beverages, reflecting their shared function as seasonal labor camps. In fact, these functional (and race- and class-based) similarities seem to be more important in defining the overall character of the assemblages than any ethnic or demographic distinctions. Despite the presence of nuclear families on Don Island, both communities regularly consumed communal meals, and the archaeological assemblages as a whole reflect these and other communal activities An Archaeology of Asian Transnationalism 178 rather than those of individual households. At both camps there is evidence of a heavy reliance on traditional meals, along with a large volume of imported Asian tableware and other ceramics. Nevertheless, each made use of English ceramics as serving wares, purchased at least some glass tableware, and consumed Western-style condiments. Both communities combined canned and preserved foods with fresh ones, and there is evidence they acquired domestic and imported foods from local merchants while also hunting, fishing, cultivating, and gathering wild and domestic plants and animals on the islands. Residents of both camps also consumed a diverse range of Western and Asian beverages that, as demonstrated later, broadly mirror local patterns of alcohol consumption. They also combined Asian and Western medicines and adopted Western-style domestic and work clothes, albeit in distinct ways. Furthermore, there is evidence that Chinese migrants purchased imported Japanese consumer goods, including recreational beverages and ceramic tableware, and vice versa, although this practice was not extensive on Don and Lion Islands. Among the major differences between sites, the Japanese on Don Island appear to have been more entrepreneurial, pursuing extensive brewing , salting, and agricultural ventures, whereas such activities were far more limited among Chinese bunkhouse residents. Granted, the archival record is also less robust for the Chinese community. Japanese fishermen also regularly patronized the cannery store and, overall, exhibit evidence of greater consumer choice than the Chinese cannery workers, who were constrained by the contract system. Consequently, there is more volume and diversity of Asian and Western ceramics and other consumer goods on Don Island, with the exception of beverages. Such diversity includes a greater variety of local Western-style foods and ceramic tableware, in contrast to the larger volume of imported foods and associated ceramic storage jars at the Chinese bunkhouse. Lion Island also exhibits more evidence of recreational games and consumption of opium, in contrast to evidence for tobacco smoking on Don Island. Surprisingly, despite the presence of significant numbers of families in the Japanese camp, distinct material evidence of women and children is limited. Overall, archival and archaeological evidence from Don Island suggests Japanese community members, including single men and families, ate a combination of traditional meals and meals composed wholly or in part of nontraditional items, including fresh produce, wild plants and 179 Asian Migrants as Transnational Consumers animals, and local and imported canned and bulk foods. The ceramic assemblage includes all the basic elements of a typical Japanese table setting, supplemented by English serving ware and a combination of Japaneseand Western-style tea and food-preparation vessels. In fact, tally book entries from 1905 indicate consumption of both coffee and Japanese tea. The presence of Western foods in the tally book indicates these foods were being purchased early on in the settlement’s history and cannot be interpreted as evidence of gradual change over time. Such fusion of inherited and...