ANTHRO 190: Visualizing the Past: Images of the Market Street Chinatown (ARCHLGY 183, URBANST 172)

Course Description

Maps, facial reconstructions, drawings of our ancient ancestors, 3D models; archaeology is a deeply visual discipline. But how do we know if an image is based on archaeological evidence? Do archaeologists still need to know how to draw? And what goes into making a good visualization? Explore these questions and more drawing on readings and activities from "How to Lie with Maps" to drawing your cellphone. Using this background, we'll then apply some of these techniques to visualize the nineteenth-century Market Street Chinatown in San Jose. What did it look like? What was the layout? What could you see from the inside? And can you find a new story to tell about one of the most important Chinese American archaeological collections?