Tobacco and pipes in the city of Tara in the 17th–19th centuries

Abstract

The research was carried out on the materials of 2009–2019 archeological-historical investigations in one of the first Russian cities in Siberia — Tara, founded in 1594. The aim was to study the process of tobacco distribu-tion in the region and the specific aspects of tobacco smoking in the 17th–19th centuries. The perception of this habit from the local administration and various groups of the population, such as servicemen, Old Believers and other social strata of the city, has been considered. The attitude to tobacco smoking changed over the studied period from the government ban to protection by the highest authorities. The perception within the society also varied, from semi-underground smoking and punishment for this habit to permission and encouragement. In total, during the excavation, 10 pipes for tobacco smoking and 2 mouthpieces were found. Pipes from archeological excavations of Siberian sites of the Sayany ostrog, as well as those from Moscow and Saint-Petersburg, were analyzed. Based on this analysis, the Tara pipes were divided into the following types: locally produced items of the 18th century, «Moscow» pipes of the 18th century, and porcelain pipes of the 19th century. By their design, they split into heads with small cups for finely cut tobacco and pipes with large cups for Russian coarsely cut tobacco. The collection of pipes obtained during archaeological research in the city of Tara overall fits into the general con-cept of the distribution of smoking in Siberia, proposed by A.V. Shapovalov. The mouthpieces are made of wood and bone and fit with dimensions of the pipe heads. Planigraphically, the findings of pipes and mouthpieces in the 17th century are associated to the interhouse spaces, and pipes of the 18th–19th centuries — to the location of drinking houses. This is related to the prohibition of smoking by local administrations before Peter the Great time, and then to the protests of Old Believers against smoking. The issue of the use of drugs during smoking, primarily hashish, a tradition that could come to Siberia from Central Asia, is still to be addressed.

Keywords

• siberia
• the city tara
• history
• archaeology
• tobacco
• pipe.