A short-stemmed, locally made clay smoking pipe, 2 views (bottom: view from side with pipe's bowl on left; top: view from top). Pipes like this were inspired by those used by America's First Peoples from whom Europeans learned about tobacco. Europeans introduced tobacco smoking to West Africa during the early centuries of trans-Atlantic trade. This pipe's cylindrical bowl has a flared pedestal base which shows signs of wear/abrasion. The rim of the pipe bowl has broken away. The pipe's stem joins the bowl above the base (a "double-angled" form). The stem flares outward toward a flattened lip. The pipe's surface shows traces of overall red slip/paint. The pipe bowl is decorated with closely spaced rows of dentate impression. Soil adheres to the bowl's interior which was not washed after excavation. Photo scale in cm. Site A212. 17 Feburary, 2001.
