Lawrence Chinese Camp, Otago Region, New Zealand
I first became aware of this site while on a Fulbright scholarship from the University of Arkansas in 2002-2003. I spent another month in 2006 and another six months in 2008 working with the local community and archaeologists from the University of Otago. At present, a discussion of this site represents the largest of three case studies I explore in an upcoming (2012) International Journal of Historical Archaeology publication. I also discuss this site in my 2009 Historical Archaeology article.
My work in 2008 centered on creating an artifact sorting, identification, and analysis strategy for archaeologists at the University of Otago. This involved mentoring approximately twenty undergraduate students and teaching them current international standards for working with nineteenth century material culture. You can view these protocols here. The overarching goal of working with artifacts from this site centers on identifying differences along lines of class and ethnicity as revealed by supporting historic documentation. While I have not returned to Otago since 2008, work continues at the site and additional excavations took place in 2010.
You can read a brief history of the site here.
You can also virtually visit the site via Google Earth which represents the site as it existed 1882. You can download the file here and view it in Google Earth.
