Stanford’s Arboretum Chinese Labor Quarters (ACLQ) Project seeks to use archaeological evidence, alongside documentary and oral historical data, to better understand the daily lives of the Chinese workers at Leland Stanford’s Palo Alto Stock Farm and, later, at Stanford University. These laborers planted every Palm on Palm Drive, dug the Oval and Lake Lagunita, and planted the Arizona Garden, Arboretum, and the gardens of the Main Quadrangle. The ACLQ site was occupied from the early 1880s through 1925 and represents one of at least four residences for Chinese workers on Stanford lands. In excavating the location where these historic workers spent their non-working hours, this research can speak to their daily activities more completely. During the 2019 excavation season, the boundaries of a large purpose-dug kitchen midden pit were located and the feature was excavated out as much as possible. This talk presents an overview of the first data recovery excavation season at the ACLQ site and then discusses several findings from an initial analysis of the ceramic assemblage, including the presence of both Overseas Chinese and Euro-American vessels, a larger proportion of hollowware vessels over tableware vessels, and refined white earthenwares with evidence of heavy use wear. 

Dr. Megan Victor is a historical archaeologist who studies commensality, especially within drinking spaces such as taverns, saloons, trade and exchange, and the role of alcohol in sociability. Her research on commensal politics and alcohol includes excavations at the fishing village of Smuttynose Island, in the Isles of Shoals, Maine (1623 – 1780), at the eighteenth-century Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg, Virginia, and at the gold-mining town of Highland City, Montana (1866-1898). She received her B.A. from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI) and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the College of William & Mary (Williamsburg, VA). Dr. Victor is currently a postdoctoral scholar at the Stanford Archaeology Center; her current project examines commensal politics within the Arboretum Chinese Labor Quarters (1883-1925) on the Stanford University campus.