Pipestone refers to one of a whole slew of stone raw material types that are soft, fine-grained, and easily carved into a wide variety of shapes.
Hopewell catlinite pipe from the Temper Mound, southern Ohio. Photograph by Kenneth Farnsworth, courtesy of the Illinois State Archaeological Survey
The best known use of this stone is of course, pipes like the one illustrated above: tobacco pipes carved by several Native American groups beginning at least 3,000 years ago.
Pipestone objects have been found for centuries as artifacts in Hopewellian and Mississippian period sites, but only recently have researchers reported results from sourcing studies, pinpointing where the various kinds of pipestone were quarried. Thomas Emerson from the Illinois State Archaeological Society ISAS was kind enough to lend his expertise and a couple of images, to bring you a new photo essay on pipestone.
Comments
Incorrect. This is not a Hopwell pipe. This is a northern great lakes pipe.
Hmm. I got the image from Tom Emerson at the Illinois State Archaeological Society, who gave me the caption as well. As far as I know, this pipe was excavated from Tremper Mound, in Ohio, a Hopewell period mound and enclosure built and used between 100 BC – 500 AD. Stylistically, you may be right: but I don’t know what “northern great lakes pipe” means. Can you elaborate?
I asked Tom Emerson, who replied: The illustrated pipe was one of about 145 pipes excavated from the Tremper Mound near Portsmouth, OH in 1915 by William Mills from the Ohio Historical Society. The mound has been radiocarbon dated to about the time of Christ making it one of the earliest known Hopewell mounds.
For a detailed analysis of this pipe and other catlinite specimens from Tremper read “Tremper Mound, Hopewell Catlinite, and PIMA Technology” by Thomas E. Emerson, Randall E. Hughes, Kenneth B. Farnsworth, Sarah U. Wisseman and Mary R. Hynes. Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 30, No. 2 (FALL, 2005), pp. 189-216.
Thanks for your comment, though!