Expanding Perspectives on the Archaeology of Pipes, Tobacco, and Other Smoke Plants in the Ancient Americas

Abstract

Popular culture has made the public aware of the general roles tobacco and pipes played in Native ceremonial rituals concerned with diplomacy, particularly in North America. For example, a focus on certain types of pipes, such as the iconic calumet, and specific smoke plants, such as tobacco, have encouraged the stereotype that pipes and tobacco were used solely to make peace, and that Native groups used the same pipes and smoke plants everywhere. In recent years, a great deal of scholarly research has expanded our view of indigenous smoking practices that challenge simplistic perceptions of the use of pipes, tobacco, and other smoke plants throughout the Americas. This chapter highlights some of the overarching themes and research questions that scholars are addressing both within and outside of this volume, including: production and artifact life histories, smoking pipes as windows to ritual and social processes, pipe use in prehistory, the value of collections-based research, integrating interdisciplinary methods, anthropogenic range extension, plant cultivation and management, and tobacco sovereignty and modern heath initiatives. Researchers are approaching these issues from a variety of theoretical frameworks and applying cutting edge technologies to investigate questions that address the development smoking in the past and, in so doing, highlight implications for modern day society. By broadening research questions, utilizing new analytical methods, and applying interdisciplinary interpretative frameworks, this new research offers innovative perspectives into a diverse array of perspectives on smoke plants and pipes.