An Examination of the Social Dynamics Behind Native Smoking Pipe Variation in the Late Woodland and Early Contact Period Middle Atlantic Region

Abstract

This chapter examines the social processes behind stylistic variation in Native American Middle Atlantic tobacco smoking pipe forms. I argue that researchers typically tend to describe variation in pipe forms as following an evolutionary progression that begins with tubular forms in the Early Woodland and ends with elbow forms in the Late Woodland and Contact periods. However, an analysis of pipe spatial distributions using Geographic Information Systems software revealed the presence of multiple forms that overlapped during particular temporal periods. Moreover, this investigation of pipes demonstrates that a wider variety of forms were present in the region during these periods than previously acknowledged. I suggest that the stylistic diversity of pipe forms is tied to their roles as important ritual objects and possessions of high status males in Native societies. The results reported here demonstrate that researchers must consider how the social processes of production, use, and exchange of pipes by different Native groups influenced pipe styles. A closer examination of pipe form diversity provides a more complex picture of the role of pipes in the Late Woodland and Contact period Native social landscapes in the Middle Atlantic.