Abstract
Five years of excavation on Smuttynose Island, Isles of Shoals, Maine has recovered a large number of artifacts. These artifacts are related to nearly four hundred years of European use and occupation of the island, and include over 7,000 fragments of white clay tobacco pipes. Unfortunately, the specific soil conditions of the site often made field identification of different contexts difficult during the excavation process. This paper explores the use of clay pipes in the separation and identification of different stratigraphic contexts. Questions addressed include the utility of various stem-bore dating methods, and the use of identifying the origin of pipes and how this can be used to link specific stratigraphic contexts to known historical occupations of the island. This particularly includes the early migratory period of the Gulf of Maine cod fishery. Finally, this paper provides a chronological framework for further study and interpretation of the archaeology of Smuttynose Island.
Recommended Citation
Clausnitzer, Arthur R. Jr.
(2018)
"The Use of Tobacco Pipes in Identifying and Separating Contexts on Smuttynose Island, Maine,"
Northeast Historical Archaeology:
Vol.
47
47, Article 10.
Available at:
https://orb.binghamton.edu/neha/vol47/iss1/10
