Overseas Chinese archaeology: Historical foundations, current reflections, and new directions

Abstract

As historical archaeologists increase their involvement in studies of Overseas Chinese communities, it is especially important that this research be grounded in a solid understanding of the history of the Chinese diaspora. A transnational framework is instrumental in facilitating an understanding of the ways in which Overseas Chinese communities and identities formed through global economic, political, and cultural networks. The archaeology of Overseas Chinese communities currently faces many challenges, including underpublication, a tendency towards descriptive rather than research-oriented studies, and orientalism. These difficulties are being surmounted through collaborative research programs that foster dialogue between archaeologists and Chinese heritage organizations, as well as through interdisciplinary exchanges that are forging new connections among historical archaeology and Asian American studies and Asian studies.