This Chinese porcelain rice bowl was found in one of the laborer camps along the Southern Pacific railroad within the Lower Pecos region. Chinese laborers were brought from California in the early 1880s to build the railroad that finally connected the west with the east portions of the railroad in 1884. An archeological study of one of the railroad worker camps found many artifacts connecting southwest Texas with China. Photo from ANRA-NPS Archives at TARL. |