Effigy Pipes, Diplomacy, and Myth: Exploring Interaction between St. Lawrence Iroquoians and Eastern Iroquois in New York State

Abstract

This article relates an archaeological “culture” of northern New York to the Eastern Iroquois nations through the evidence of ceramic smoking pipes that are about 500 years old. After categorizing the objects on the basis of distinctive but thematically related imagery, I observe that their distribution is suggestive of an interaction sphere linking the St. Lawrence Iroquoians of Jefferson County with the Mohawks, Oneidas, and Onondagas elsewhere in present Upstate New York. Later historic descriptions imply that these pipes were connected with diplomatic ritual conducted by male representatives of those communities. The resulting geographical occurrence might be the archaeological footprint of alliances antedating the famous League of the Iroquois. Bearing remarkably elaborate designs, these objects are among the most iconographically complex compositions preserved in the Northeast. All depict themes of emergence, and some may illustrate a more extensive myth asserting the common origins of several groups. Fragments of similar stories survive to this day and are among the oldest oral narratives documented among the Iroquois. My interpretations of both the behavioral/social correlates and the meaning(s) of these pipes derive from applications of the direct historical method, an approach tapping the unsurpassed richness of the Iroquoian ethnographic and historic record.

Seeing What Smoking Pipes Signal(ed): An Examination of Late Woodland and Early Contact Period(A.D.900-1665) Native Social Dynamics in the Middle Atlantic

“…Although this simply might be due to the limitations of the level of detail available in the casting process, it adds some evidence to the fact that perhaps decorative symbols on pipes were not necessarily a primary form of information exchange, at least among Powhatan communities. This is a stark contrast to the stylistic patterning of pipes in other regions such as the Northeast or South Appalachian Mississippian region, which were very stylized with elaborate symbols and effigies (Blanton 2012;Mathews 1992;Paper 1992;Wonderley 2005). However it is possible that a more detailed look at combinations of specific elements within the design structures identified in Chapter 8 might reveal more localized patterning that could be indicative of intra-community signaling.…”

“…Iroquoian-speaking groups although in some areas effigies continued to be a minority form (Wonderley 2005). Kent (1984) has already noted that effigy forms increased in popularity among the Susquehannocks in the last quarter of the sixteenth century and in a manner similar to other Iroquoian-speaking groups, by the middle of the seventeenth century, effigy pipes proliferated at the Strickler (36LA3) site (ibid:151-152).…”

“…Effigy forms that included stylistic elements related to the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex were used by Mississippian peoples of the Southeast (Brain and Philips 1996;Brown 1989). A variety of effigy forms that incorporated zoomorphic and anthropomorphic imagery were used by Iroquoian groups of the Northeast (Kuhn 1986;Mathews 1980;Noble 1992;Wonderley 2005). Reed stem pipes were also popular amongst Mississippian, Fort Ancient 2 , and Northeastern…”

“…The first is that the pipes of Iroquoian groups in New York and New Jersey have been thoroughly discussed and many of their distributions already mapped (Drooker 2004;Hayes and Paper 1992;Kuhn 1986;Wonderley 2005). Second, I believe gaining a better understanding of pipe production and exchange in the area I have designated will provide a basis for comparison with other areas in the future, as the pipes in this area have not been systematically analyzed.…”

“…For example, pipes from sites associated with Iroquoian speaking groups in northern Pennsylvania and New York have been the focus of intensive study (Hayes (ed.) 1992;Kuhn 1986;Kuhn and Sempowski 2001;Wonderley 2005). Additionally, pipe assemblages from sites located in the southern and far western territory of North Carolina are the subject of a forthcoming dissertation (Blanton 2012).…”