by Ken Woods, Bristol, Tennessee
Volume 71, Number 3, July 2024 Central States Archaeological Journal
The prehistoric inhabitants of the southeast created remarkable pipes in many forms and variations. Each is a masterpiece of craftsmanship, and although they are somewhat stylized in form, each one is unique.
Three such pipes are shown in Figure 1. At the top is a highly engraved pipe from Cabarrus County, North Carolina. This pipe style is typical of Late Woodland/Early Mississippian pipes of the Mid-South. Just a few of these pipes exhibit engraving, and this is one of those. It has several motifs including rectangles within rectangles, triangles and cross-hatching. It has been shown that smoking certain hallucinogenic plants (most likely Jimson weed — a well-known substance utilized by prehistoric peoples in this area) creates such visions. The prehistoric owner went ahead and adorned his pipe with what he saw during his transcendental journeys.
In the middle of Figure 1 is a pipe found on the Davis Farm in Polk County, Tennessee. This pipe represents a creature with his mouth open and teeth showing. It might be a dog, but more likely is the mythological entity similar to what we see on pottery vessels known as “The Cat Serpent” and/or on shell gorgets that are commonly referred to as rattlesnakes. The facial features on both of these almost always have an open mouth similar to the image this pipe portrays.
At the bottom is a pipe dating to the Proto-Historic period. This style of pipe is referred to as a “gun-sight” pipe due to the protrusion on the stem that resembles a flintlock gun-sight. This pipe was found in 1981 by John Tilley in Elmore County, Alabama.
Figure 2.
Figure 3.
Figure 1. At left are the three pipes. The top pipe measures 5¼″ in length. The middle pipe measures 2½″ in length. The bottom pipe measures 3½″ in length. At the right, in Figures 2 and 3 are close-up views of the engravings on the top pipe.
Collection of the Author.