Clay tobacco pipes from a late 17th century wreck off Cuba

A new and interesting wreck has been detected off the coast of eastern Cuba by team of archaeologists. The shipwreck contained a small cargo of clay tobacco pipes and ordinance that can be traced to the last decades of the 17th century. These findings are superbly fascinating. Not just for the new information it will bring to the development of marine archaeology on the Cuban archipelago, but because of its cargo of smoking tobacco pipes -some of the oldest yet reported by local archaeology.

The initial findings have been recently presented at the "29 Congreso Asociación Internacional de Arqueología del Caribe", an archaeology meeting that took place in Cuba this past June 30. Thanks to the courtesy of the Cuban researchers Yadira Rojas Espinosa and colleagues, I was integrated into the team to help study those clay tobacco pipes. Here, I extend my gratitude for such an invitation and recognition. 

Here are brief bilingual abstracts of the talk Yadira Rojas gave at the recent "Simposio 9: Arqueología de la esclavitud, Arqueología Histórica y Arqueología Subacuática (Varadero, Matanzas, Cuba)" (= Simposium 9, historical archaeology, subaquatic archaeology and archaeology of slavery). 

Our talk deals with the recognition and preliminary prospecting of the underwater archaeological site, located in Puerto Rico beach, within the municipality of Banes, eastern Cuba. We report the discovery of a cache of smoking tobacco pipes rescued from the site, and provide an approximation of the pipe’s typology, manufacturer marks, seriation (age), and origin. The clay pipes are identified as likely Dutch. Several specimens are visibly marked on their heel, make it possible to establish the chronology of the shipwreck around the last third of the 17th-century. These pipes are particularity relevant for their abundance, whish suggest a small cargo of them, and because pipes of this age have been poorly studied or reported from Cuban archaeological contexts. The finding of this new wreck and our current study of its material remains present a testimony to a period in the 17th century where commercial activity and maritime exchange were protagonists within the colonial dynamics in the Caribbean.

Resumen: La ponencia aborda el reconocimiento y prospección preliminar del sitio arqueológico subacuático, localizado en playa Puerto Rico, municipio de Banes, Cuba. Se expone además los resultados del estudio de un lote de pipas de fumar tabaco rescatado del yacimiento a partir de una aproximación a sus valores tipológicos y morfológicos. La particularidad y relevancia de las pipas de fumar, en este caso holandesas, por su cantidad en el sitio y presencia de marcas visibles en su talón, posibilitan establecer la cronología del naufragio, probablemente en el último tercio del siglo XVII. La investigación histórica y geográfica de este entorno en la costa norte de Cuba, determinó la comprensión del contexto particular del naufragio. Este acercamiento resulta ser testimonio de un período en el siglo XVII donde la actividad comercial y el intercambio marítimo fueron protagonistas dentro de las dinámicas coloniales en el Caribe.

Recommended citation: 

Rojas Espinosa, Y., Rodriguez Buzón, Y., Orihuela León, J., Munoz Varona, R. E. (2022). Estudio de evidencias procedentes de un yacimiento arqueológico subacuático: Naufragio del siglo XVII en playa Puerto Rico, Banes, Cuba. 29 Congreso Asociación Internacional de Arqueología del Caribe (IACA-AIAC): Simposio 9: Arqueología de la esclavitud, Arqueología Histórica y Arqueología Subacuática. El jueves 30 de junio de 2022, de 12:15-12:30pm.