Session: #349

Theme & Session Format

Theme:
6. Contested Pasts & Presents
Session format:
Regular session

Title & Content

Title:
Revealing the Many Narratives of Tobacco: Towards an Interdisciplinary Archaeology of Tobacco and Consumption
Content:
Tobacco is one of the most important non-food crop plants in human history. Archaeological research suggests humans have been consuming tobacco for millennia in the Americas where it was used by indigenous peoples in rituals, medicine, trade and recreation. European arrival in the Americas in the 16th century was a watershed moment in tobacco history. Their interest in the medicinal properties of the plant, coupled with recreational use, resulted in a transatlantic tobacco trade, and led to the incorporation of tobacco into everyday life in Europe and beyond. It was also an early impetus for the slave trade and exploitative networks, which has deep ramifications today. Despite significant research by historians, archaeologists have had limited engagement with the topic of tobacco, especially in Europe. Research has revolved around clay tobacco pipes, and focuses on pipes as a dating mechanism, rather than to learn about tobacco history itself. This session aims to expand our knowledge on the varying roles of tobacco in the lives of past peoples and the differing ways that archaeologists can weave a new interdisciplinary tobacco narrative more reflective of its true significance. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, studies of material culture (clay pipes, snuff boxes, tobacco jars etc), network analysis, archaeology of colonies and production sites, theoretical perspectives on intoxication and consumption, bioarchaeology and residue analysis.
Aim:
• Bring together scholars working on tobacco in any region of the world and at any time.
• Get people to think about tobacco as an agent of historical change.
• Consider the multiplicity of roles and personas of tobacco, beyond recreational use.
• Bring tobacco history to the fore of discussions on early colonialism, imperialism and inequality.
• Encourage understanding of the wider value of clay tobacco pipes for assessing social consumption practices.
Keywords:
Tobacco, Colonialism, Consumption, Residue analysis, Clay pipes, Bioarchaeology
Session associated with MERC:
no
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no
Session associated with CAA:
no
Session associated with DGUF:
no
Session associated with other:

Organisers

Main organiser:
Sarah Inskip (United Kingdom) 1
Co-organisers:
Maia Casna (Netherlands) 2
Affiliations:
1. University of Leicester
2. Leiden University