Chinese Immigrant Life in late-19th-century San Jose, California: Macroremains from Market Street Chinatown

Plant remains recovered from the late-19^th-century Chinatown in San Jose, California, present a picture of the complexity of Chinatown life. They represent a variety of activities such as purchasing food from local farms and Chinese grocery stores to prepare for daily meals and festivities and purchasing, collecting, or growing medicinal plants to promote good health. They attest to the strong ties between the Overseas Chinese and traditional Chinese foodways as well as the active role the Overseas Chinese took in molding 19^th century farming in California.