Currently not on view
Elbow pipe with engraved designs,
700–1200
Mississippian Smoking Pipes
Many plants, including tobacco, were smoked in the ancient Americas. Smoking was ofen ceremonial, although it was also done for pleasure. Smaller pipes such as these were for personal use. It is also possible that tubular "pipes" were used for blowing smoke during healing rites and other ceremonies rather than for inhaling it. The angled "elbow pipe" was found in 1876–on land that belonged to Princeton alumnus R.S. Conover, Class of 1854–and became one of the first ancient American objects to enter the University's collections. Its form is rare for objects found in Florida, suggesting trade with the Mississippi drainage, where its style of engraving is more common.
Information
700–1200
North America, United States, Florida, Lake Panasoffkee
- Evan Maurer, The Native American Heritage: A Survey of North American Indian Art (Chicago: The Chicago Institute of Art, 1977)., cat. no. 545, p. 335 (illus.)
- Donald Baird, "The Princeton Dig at Panasoffkee Lake, Florida, 1876," Bulletin of the Archaeological Society of New Jersey 43 (1988): 51-56., p. 51–56
- Barbara A. Purdy, Indian Art of Ancient Florida (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1996)., fig. 59 (illus.)
