Meat Economies of the Chinese American West

Cuisine and diet are topics of particular interest to scholars of Chinese communities in the nineteenth-century American West. Many zooarchaeological analyses have identified beef and pork among the main provisions for miners and townsfolk, and this chapter synthesizes archaeological and historical evidence for food access and supply while exploring contexts of socioeconomics and cuisine which likely structured food choices. By focusing on both urban and rural sites to compare access and food choices, the historical evidence of national railroad–based chains of supply for meat products and Chinese food practices in varied living contexts are investigated. Taphonomic marks of centralized processing and redistribution, documented pricing of meat cuts, and patterns of access across the West provide new perspectives on feeding American communities.