Can one see ethnicity? Here in Tucson I have come across numerous examples of ar
tifacts and assemblages with "ethnicity." Examples include differences in the wa
y Eueo-Americans and Mexican-Americans butchered animals and in the meat cuts th
ey preferred. Another example is the material culture found in Chinese immigrant
 households, they purchased a suite of Chinese-manufactured items (prepared food
s, opium pipes, gaming pieces, service vessels, clothing) that are not found tog
ether at other sites. Tucson's Mexican-American and Chinese also purchased and u
sed Native American ceramics for cooking and water storage.
 
What is perhaps most interesting for me is to examine why certain artifacts were
 used by these groups. Water storage jarss continued to be used because water wa
s supplied to Euro-American neighborhoods before it was supplied to other neighb
orhoods. Chinese immigrants used a small set of artifacts to help retain their t
raditional culture- interestingly, they used Euro-American artifacts to do so al
so (modifying items to make opium pipes, replacing Chinese rice bowls with Engli
sh-made bowls.
 
One question I have started to think about is whether it is possible to find Eur
o-American ethnic markers. Any ideas?