Hannah Steffensen and Dr. Michael Searcy, Department of Anthropology
In the Spring of 2012, thirtynine prehistoric smoking pipes and pipe fragments were recovered from the Fremont archaeological site of Wolf Village in Goshen, Utah. Brigham Young University has conducted excavations at the Wolf Village site for five years, recovering hundreds of thousands of artifacts and excavating the largest known Fremont pithouse.
All of the pipes analyzed for this project were recovered from this pithouse. Six intact (nonfragmented) pipes were submitted to the Paleoresearch Institute in Colorado as candidates for both archaeobotanical and chemical analysis. Pipes were chosen based on the material they were composed of (ceramic pipes are more likely to retain botanical residue than stone pipes) and whether charcoal or other evidence of use could be identified during preliminary analysis.
The analyses performed by the Paleoresearch Institute included charcoal identification, ceramic residue analysis, and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. FTIR is used in archaeology to identify organic compoundsin this case, botanical materials used for pipe smoking. Identification of these materials is valuable to the study of Fremont society, as the materials used could indicate trade, agricultural, or gathering activities surrounding the cultural practice of pipe smoking. Laboratory analysis of the Wolf Village pipe samples is ongoing. Completed analyses of the samples have identified grass residue, wild tobacco pollen, and Douglas fir needles within the pipes.
The presence of Douglas fir residue may indicate a blending of botanical materials to be used in smoking, though it is more likely that the fir was used to wrap the tobacco plants after harvesting, a practice which archaeologists have established among other prehistoric North American cultures.1
The pollen identified in the pipes is most likely from Nicotiana rustica, a species of tobacco native to the Southwestern United States. Nicotiana rustica grows throughout Utah Valley and could have been cultivated or gathered by the Fremont of Wolf Village to be used in pipe smoking or trade.
This project has yielded valuable information about Fremont smoking activities, this being the first time specific botanical materials have been successfully identified within a Fremont pipe. With further research, the manner in which the smoking materials were acquired by the Fremont may be established. This information will aid in the understanding of and future investigations into the Fremont culture.
Reference
- Edward K. Balls, Early Uses of California Plants (University of California Press, 1962)