Pipe bowl fragments (Archaeological Find)
Files
Title:
Pipe bowl fragments
Subject:
This artefact is a pipe bowl probably dating to the 18th Century, since it has two letters impressed on the bottom of the heel, which was probably a maker’s mark (Oswald, 1975). Smoking was a common habit at Harvard all through the Colonial period and after, as demonstrated by the large number of pipe stems found in digs at Harvard College and by comments in letters like the attached image from the 19th Century, decrying the ‘Evils of Tobacco.' Smoking or ‘drinking’ tobacco was explicitly banned in the College rules in the 17th Century (Loren, 2016), except in the case of medical prescription. Although in our century, we largely associate smoking with ill-health and think of it as a dangerous habit, in the 18th Century smoking tobacco was prescribed for a number of illnesses. According to one writer in 1712 (The virtues and excellency of the American Tobacco plant, 1712), smoking tobacco ‘destroys Worms in Human Bodies, and is likewise by Experience found to be a Remedy against Leprosies, Scurvy and Itch.’ Loren (2016) lists still further illnesses tobacco was thought to cure, and also points out that the use of tobacco by the English suggests exchange between Indian and European communities, as well as a shared emotional community around health and wellness. In colonial New England, health was not just a physical but also a spiritual matter. In the attached images, you can also see a poem pointing out the spiritual benefits of smoking tobacco, and how pipe-smoking can act as a spiritual experience and as a metaphor for the human soul.
Source:
Loren, D. D. (2016). Bodily protection: Dress, health, and anxiety in colonial New England. In The Archaeology of Anxiety (pp. 141-156). Springer New York.
Oswald, A. (1975). Clay pipes for the archaeologist.
The virtues and excellency of the American tobacco plant, for cure of diseases, and preservation of health: and the noxious qualities of the tobacco growing in Northern countries:
London: printed for R. Parker; and sold by J. Morphew, 1712.
http://name.umdl.umich.edu/004861603.0001.000 (Accessed 04/04/17)
https://s3.amazonaws.com/atg-prod-oaas-files%2Fanth1130%2Foriginal%2F89cec367cdfa52bc94d281f330be2755.jpg
https://s3.amazonaws.com/atg-prod-oaas-files%2Fanth1130%2Foriginal%2F5dd44dea1ccfaf8a612a06bf4dfb79ba.jpg
Harvard College Papers Volume XXVI, January 12th 1859.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/atg-prod-oaas-files%2Fanth1130%2Foriginal%2Fc369f73bf6e873877e6ffd4a4a66bbd1.jpg
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nyp.33433074856166;view=1up;seq=550
Object Name:
Pipe Bowl Pieces
Inventory Description:
4 pieces of a pipe bowl, with letters imprinted on the heel. Made of clay, probably from the 18th Century judging by the mark and the shape of the bowl.
Peabody Number:
2016.29.35
Culture/Period:
18th Century
Intrasite:
H930 Level 3
Depth:
75-85cm
Class 1:
Ceramic
Class 2:
Pipe
Class 3:
Pipe bowl
Quantity:
4
Height (cm):
4.1
Width (cm):
2.3
Depth/Thickness (cm):
0.55