Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center logo

at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center / Educators

Archaeology Terms

Back to all terms

Clay Pipe, Fluted - Lessard

Clay Pipe

This complete white clay pipe has fluting about one-third of the way up the bowl. A spur sits beneath the bowl, at the bowl/stem junction. No front or back mold mark is apparent, except that part of a flute where the front mold mark would be is slightly flattened. The flutes become narrower at the base of the bowl, ending at molded lines that encircle the stem, with raised dots between them. The rim of the bowl is at a slight angle rather than parallel with the stem. The stem of this pipe has a 5/64 inch bore diameter. Based on age estimates from Alexander (1978:Figures 5 and 6), this pipe dates from about 1820 to 1850. It was found during the 2006 excavation of an early 1830s-1840s privy in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.

Alexander, L. T.
1978 Clay Tobacco Smoking Pipes from the Caleb Pusey House. Paper #9. The Archaeology Society of Delaware. (Also available in The Archaeology of the Clay Tobacco Pipe VIII. America. BAR International Series 175:195-233).

MVAC wordmark logo

at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

Contact us

Get involved

Back to top

MVAC Educational Programs are supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these programs do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. This project was supported in part by the National Science Foundation. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Foundation.