Smoking in Portuguese Historical Archaeology. Clay Pipes, Social Habits and Long-Distance Relations

Clay pipes are found in almost every post-medieval archaeology excavation in Portugal, especially the ones dated from the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Most of these pipes are the classical north European productions revealing straight relations with Great Britain and the Low Countries. Small numbers also indicate the presence of Mediterranean pipes or others made in South America, the place where most of the smoked tobacco originated from. Smoking habits became so widespread that such action is frequently depicted in tiles and even in pottery representations. The aim of this paper is to discuss, based on archaeological and historical evidence, how tobacco was consumed in Portugal in the Early Modern Ages and how this product impacted on social, cultural, economic and symbolic behaviors.