Sarah Heffner, Ph.D., Participates In Archaeology Workshop At Stanford

Aspen’s Sarah Heffner standing in front of the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts, Stanford University

In October 2013, Aspen Cultural Resources Specialist Dr. Sarah Heffner was invited to speak at the first meeting of the recently formed Chinese Railroad Workers Archaeology Network Workshop, a part of the Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project, which was held at Stanford University from October 10-12. The goal of this Project is to gather information on the lives of Chinese laborers who worked on the Transcontinental Railroad between 1865-1869. To this date, there is not a single document written by a Chinese railroad worker in North America that has been uncovered. This Project is unique in that it brings together scholars from a variety of disciplines (history, literature, archaeology) and members of the public in a collaborative environment to shed light on the daily lives of the thousands of Chinese who labored along the railroad. Sarah’s presentation was part of a panel called “The Laboring Body,” and that focused on the health, diet, and living conditions of Chinese railroad workers.

Chinese medicine bottle containing pills to treat eye disorders from the Asian American Comparative Collection, University of Idaho

Her presentation discussed health hazards faced by Chinese railroad workers and various treatments that may have been utilized. The papers from this workshop will be turned into a thematic issue in the journal Historical Archaeology to be published in 2015. To learn more about the Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project, you can visit their website here.