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specific locations and in an attempt to find out the degree to which the
assemblages correlate with activities mentioned in the historical record.
Cultural characteristics were sought through comparison of the
assemblage to that recorded from known Chinese sites researched by
others, such as Ritchie, McCarthy, Grimwade, and Fagan. The
assemblage was studied to identify evidence of economic and recreational
activities.
A futher aspect considered was the possible presence of artefacts
associated with religious observance, as a comment made by Nel Baker
(personal communication, 1988) regarding the placement of whisky on the
Chinese graves at Milparinka tends to fit the pattern of the Taoist grave
cleaning ritual. In order to interpret the artefactual assemblage for other
indications of ritual observance, information was sought from a number of
sources. This research established that Taoist ancestor worship includes
two basic rituals. The first practice is the grave-cleaning ceremony, part of
which was apparently observed by Nel Baker. This particular ritual is an
annual event, and includes the offering of sustenance to the deceased.
Responsibility for this ritual is clearly delineated as being that of the
persons most obligated to the deceased, but "anyone who has free time
goes to weed and set the graves in order, acting as a representative of the
ancestor's other descendants" (Ahern, 1973:166). Food, generally in an
unprepared state, is placed on the grave, ritual paper money is burnt, and
wine is poured over the surface of the grave (Ahern, 1973:173). That
failure to observe the ritual was believed to have dire consequences for
those responsible may have influenced activities at Milparinka. The second
practice, which it was thought may reflect in the archaeological record, is
the provision of food at a domestic shrine. This ritual involves the
preparation of food of the highest quality, which is offered to the spirits of
a person's ancestors in vessels of high quality on the anniversary of their
death (personal communication Sue Tan, 1994). Ahern (1967:167) does
not refer to such a rigid observance, suggesting that the food offered
would simply be that normally eaten by the family, perhaps with a higher
proportion of meats and delicacies. But more importantly, Ahern suggests
that the obligation of worship at a domestic shrine is not limited to direct
descendants. An obligation could be imposed by the inheritance of land
from a non-relative, or through the receipt of the produce of land once
belonging to a dead person (Ahern, 1973: 153). Thus the Chinese at
Milparinka may have been obliged to offer ritual sustenance at a domestic
shrine to the spirits of their deceased companions, as well as observing
the annual grave-cleaning ceremony.
The sites were also compared with each other in an attempt to identify an
occupation chronology, a sequence of abandonment, and evidence of
acculturation.