Ritual Smoking: Evidence from Archaeological Smoking Pipes

Summary

Answering the question of what was smoked in prehistoric pipes benefits from a multi-proxy approach. Partially charred residue (dottle) provides more answers than does the black carbon that often lines the interior of archaeological pipes. Pipes examined from the American Southwest and Great Basin attest to use of a variety of plants, sometimes including ground maize, as smoking mixtures. Remains within the partially burned dottle are identified by pollen, phytolith, starch, macrofloral, and anthracological studies and also chemical (FTIR) signatures, then are compared with historic documents that indicate use of specific mixtures of plants in smoking pipes. Mixtures are documented to have included soft- and hardwood charcoal, conifer needles and lignin, tobacco, grass seeds, and/or maize (pollen or starch). The archaeological record suggests differences across cultural groups and through time.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Use of Plants in Ancient Rituals: New Perspectives from Paleoethnobotany   •
• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 15085