San Jose Chinatown and the Market Street Chinatown Archaeological Project

 May is Asian Pacific Heritage Month, a month dedicated to celebrating people and cultures from Asia and the Pacific Islands. To kick things off we wanted to talk about an amazing site all the way across the country, in San Jose, California. First, as Asian Pacific is a very broad term, that encompasses many cultures, let us define it a bit. Asian Pacific refers to those from the Asian continent and the Pacific Islands. The Pacific Islands are numerous, and include Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island).

Market Street Chinatown circa 1880, photograph by 
Andrew P. Hill (Courtesy of the Market Street Chinatown
Archaeological Project)

Today we will be focusing on Chinese immigrants that moved to San Jose in the 1860s and settled in  Market Street Chinatown. Today you would never know that once one of the largest thriving Chinatowns in California existed in this area, but in the 1880s over 1,000 Chinese immigrants called this place home. There were about 20 apartment buildings, numerous stores, restaurants, barbers, butchers, pharmacies, gambling establishments, workshops, and even a Chinese opera house. 

However, in the 1880s there was a strong anti-Chinese sentiment in the United States and in fact, in 1886, the first California Anti-Chinese Convention was held in San Jose. The following year city officials declared the community a public nuisance and shortly there after it burned to the ground. The cause was suspected arson. It remained buried under the city of San Jose for nearly 100 years until archaeologists discovered a trash pit during construction of a hotel and financial center. Archaeological Resource Services (a contract archaeological firm) was contacted by the city to monitor construction. This is a wonderful example of how Cultural Resource Management plays a vital role in ensuring archaeological sites are documented during development projects.

A Chinese medicine bottle recovered from the Market Street Chinatown archaeological project. Chemical analysis shows it contained cinnabar, known in Chinese as Zhu Sha. In Chinese medicine it was used to treat numerous ailments, from anxiety to snakebites. We now know that cinnabar contains mercury, which is toxic in large amounts or extended exposure. (photograph courtesy of the "There Was a Chinatown Here" digital exhibit)

This significant archaeological discovery blossomed into Sanford's Market Street Chinatown Archaeological Project, which is a community archaeology partnership between Stanford's Department of Anthropology, History San Jose, and the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project. After the initial excavation in the 1980s, the numerous artifacts recovered from the site were boxed and put in storage. The Market Street Chinatown Archaeological Project has been working to catalog these objects so that they can be used for research and educational purposes. This project has resulted in numerous publications, art installations, and exhibits. One such exhibit is the digital exhibit, There Was a Chinatown Here. Be sure to check it out to learn more about this fascinating site and the people that called it home!