Tobacco Use and Its Early Consumption with Smoking Pipes

Abstract The presence of tobacco ( Nicotiana spp.) seeds in a terminal Pleistocene cultural feature confirms human use of tobacco in the Americas for more than 12,000 years. Throughout the Americas, the practice of smoking tobacco came to be a central element in prayer and purification rituals and medical treatments, as well as part of a solemnizing ritual in diplomatic settings. However, the nature of its earliest use—whether smoked, chewed, steeped, or otherwise ingested—remains uncertain, and the question of when smoking with pipes developed as a common cultural practice remains unresolved. Our review of pipes from dated contexts indicates that pipes were present in the interior of the West of North America—where native tobaccos are endemic—by about 6,000 years ago and possibly as early as 8,000 years ago, far earlier than has been noted in other regions. We address the ancient role of pipes and tobacco use in ritual and community-building, the role of tobacco in the development of plant management and horticultural practices, and the critical positioning of pipes and tobacco in Native commerce and diplomacy. We also report new radiocarbon dates from the Connley Caves and Dirty Shame Rockshelter in Oregon.