The Dutch tobacco pipe: archaeological clay pipes from Recife and Salvador

Abstract European tobacco pipes made of white clay, mainly between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, were mass produced and discarded quickly. They came in various decorative styles and bore different makers marks which have been relatively well dated. As a result, they are particularly useful in dating sites, layers, and features, even in heavily disturbed urban strata. This article analyzes pipes excavated from the Brazilian colonial cities of Recife and Salvador. Initially, we explore how these kaolin pipes can be identified in terms of their origin and production dates, consequently dating their strata; this contributes to the archaeology of these cities. At the same time, these implements were related to the increasingly globalized practice of smoking, full of meanings as well as social and cultural associations. Although this particular case study describes different municipalities, some interesting correlations are possible, since both were significant ports in seventeenth and eighteenth century Portuguese America. With these elements in mind, we present some interpretive possibilities related to the use of these pipes.