What herb did the Indians smoke?
Pipe smoking was widespread among the Native American tribes of North America. A new study now reveals which herbal mixtures they once savoured.
The importance of smoking pipes among the North American natives is shown by the fact that they could choose from 100 different herbs for their blends. At least that is what European immigrants who first encountered this custom in the New World reported. According to this, four different types of tobacco were also in use.
What exactly was in the tobacco pipes, however, cannot be easily determined, even if - like Korey Brownstein's team at Washington State University - historical pipes with adhering residues are available. In order to determine which typical traces a plant leaves behind, the scientists recreated Native American pipes based on historical originals and burnt herbs that could be used in them. They then analysed their charred remains. The element composition could ultimately provide information about what the pipe bowl was stuffed with, they write in the journal Frontiers in "Molecular Biosciences"
The researchers then analysed two old pipes from what is now Washington State on the west coast of the United States. One of them was around 1430 years old, the other dated from the period after contact with Europeans. While the older one contained tobacco of the species Nicotiana quadrivalvis, the younger of the two contained Nicotiana rustica. It is possible that the flavour had changed over time and smokers now preferred the stronger rustica variety. This species did not originally occur on the west coast. Brownstein and colleagues assume that the tribes traded tobacco plants and seeds among themselves.
For the first time, it was also possible to detect a plant in the pipes that does not give itself away through nicotine: Smooth sumac (Rhus glabra) was also used in the older of the two, according to the report. The Indians may have used this plant for medicinal reasons or because it improved the flavour. The pipe from the 18th century shows that the Indians of the west coast continued to use their old varieties even after contact with the Europeans. The colonists imported tobacco from South and Central America, primarily to produce for the domestic market, but also sold the varieties to the indigenous people.
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