| Title |
Smoking Pipes as Indicators of Sociopolitical Changes in Huron-Wendat Social Networks |
| Publication Type
|
Journal Article |
| Year of Publication
|
2025 |
| Authors |
J. Hart, Birch, J., Gates-St-Pierre, C., Dermarker, S. |
| Keywords |
Iroquoian archaeology, Social network analysis, Huron-Wendat, Smoking pipes |
| Journal |
American Antiquity |
| Date Published |
06/2025 |
| Volume |
90 |
| Abstract |
Ceramic smoking pipes are among the most distinctive artifacts recovered from Iroquoian sites dating from
AD 1350 to 1650 in what is today New York, Ontario, and Quebec. In this study, we conduct network analyses
of pipe forms to examine assemblages of relations among the ancestral and colonial-era Huron-Wendat
during a period of coalescence, conflict, and confederacy formation. We bring these networks based on pipe
form together with previous network analysis of collar decoration on ceramic vessels to develop insights
about the social networks that each artifact type comprises. Our findings indicate that, unlike pottery collar
decorations (which are primarily associated with women and reflect highly cohesive social networks),
Huron-Wendat smoking pipes (which are more closely associated with men) were less cohesive and reflect the
formation of coalitional networks. We interpret these patterns in the context of defensive alliances that formed
to provide mutual aid among communities and nations. These differences highlight the distinct social and
material domains in which these artifacts operated, offering complementary perspectives on the complex social
dynamics that shaped the social and political landscapes of precolonial and early colonial northeastern North
America. |
| DOI |
10.1017/aaq.2025.1
|
| URL |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-antiquity/article/smoking-pipes-as-indicators-of-sociopolitical-changes-in-huronwendat-social-networks/90C6AEDC4EFE56C8C7BAC65428D4F9CD
|
