Clay Tobacco Pipe Studies: Where Will the 21st century Bring Us?

David Higgins’ important review of clay pipe studies, in the joint SHA/SPMA publication Old and New Worlds (1999), concluded with a discussion on avenues for future research on both sides of the Atlantic. The identification and sourcing of pipe clays, using clay pipes to understand trade patterns and socio-economic variables, and the need for tightly dated North American typologies were just a few of the directions proposed to enhance archaeological interpretation. Now that 15 years have passed, what have we achieved since then and what more needs to be done? This session explores new advances in clay pipe studies and reassesses some of the more ‘traditional’ techniques that historical archaeologists have used in the past.