Under the direction of Dr. Charles Cobb, Mr. Sean Raffertry will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. His goal is to study a large and regionally diverse sample of smoking pipes excavated from Eastern and Midwestern US archaeological sites dated to the Early Woodland Period (1,000 BC - 0 AD). In North America, this period marks the transition from hunting and gathering mode of subsistence to the adoption of agriculture and a more sedentary way of life. Burial practices were elaborated and items indicative of status such as elaborately carved stone sculptures are also present. Their distribution over a wide area suggests the presence of shared ritual and ideology. Tubular smoking pipes are often found on sites dating to the Early Woodland and despite their common occurrence often in ritual contexts (such as burials) there has been little synthetic research. With National science support Mr. Rafferty will undertake such an analysis. He will travel to museums which contain specimens and conduct a detailed stylistic study. On this basis it will be possible to estimate the extent of sub-regional variation which exists. He will extract residue from pipes' interiors and subject this to chemical examination to determine whether nicotine, indicative of tobacco, is present. This regional study will be supplemented by a local scale analysis to examine whether pipes occur in regular association with other types of burial goods and whether (based on skeletal examination) they tend to occur with individuals of particular age or gender. On this basis it will be possible to gain insight into the degree and nature of ritual use and how this varied over space. In later North American prehistory it is clear that regional archaeological traditions were often integrated into larger areal commonalties. The Mississippian tradition, for example, extended from the Gulf Coast to the northern US and local groups were linked through trade and shared ideology. Archaeologists wish to know how far this pattern extends back in time and what conditions led to its rise. Mr. Rafferty hypothesizes that because of the distribution of pipes, its roots may be found in the Early Woodland period as early as 2,000 years ago. This hypothesis will be significantly strengthened if he can show the pipes represent more than objects per se, but rather are associated with shared ritual behavior. Although smoking pipes have been excavated in many sites and described, no synthetic studies using a consistent set of analytic criteria have been conducted. Mr. Rafferty's research is original and the data he collects will be widely utilized. The project will also assist in training a promising young scientist.
