Conference proceeding
Metallographic analysis of a 19th-century Chinese wok from the U.S. courthouse site (OR-MU-57), Portland, Oregon
Understanding Microstructure: Key to Advances in Materials; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; USA; 21-24 July 1996, pp.169-176
21 Jul 1996
Abstract
Archaeological testing before the construction of a new federal courthouse on the Hamilton Block in downtown Portland, Oregon, USA, led to the discovery of the remains of a 19th-century Chinese laundry. Archival research revealed that the Hamilton Block had been occupied continuously since the 1850s, with a Chinese presence after 1870 that peaked in the 1880s and 1890s. Intact yard deposits from the Chinese laundry/tenement and neighboring Euroamerican blacksmith and carpenter's shops yielded > 20 000 artifacts. A refuse disposal pit contained four cast iron woks, along with Chinese ceramic fragments, bottles, and numerous other domestic items. Metallographic analysis of bowl and handle fragments of one wok found them to be made of pearlitic white cast iron of types that suggest Chinese rather than Euroamerican manufacture. Little first-hand information exists on the details of Chinese life in Portland in the late 1800s. The mixture of imported Chinese goods with items of Euroamerican manufacture gives insight into the degree of acculturation of 19th-century Chinese immigrants into the Portland community.
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Details
- Title
- Metallographic analysis of a 19th-century Chinese wok from the U.S. courthouse site (OR-MU-57), Portland, Oregon
- Creators
- E gengD ClaassenW geng
- Publication Details
- Understanding Microstructure: Key to Advances in Materials; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; USA; 21-24 July 1996, pp.169-176
- Conference
- Understanding Microstructure: Key to Advances in Materials (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 21 Jul 1996 - 24 Jul 1996)
- Resource Type
- Conference proceeding
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Fashion Design
- Identifiers
- 991021910584604721