The Archaeology of Smoking and Tobacco

This title and all historical archaeology titles are currently discounted in our Conference on Historical & Underwater Archaeology sale. Use code CHUA15 at checkout.

We’re proud to announce the publication of Georgia L. Fox’s The Archaeology of Smoking and Tobacco, a new title in University Press of Florida’s The American Experience in Archaeological Perspective Series.

Over 1 billion people smoke tobacco worldwide, making it one of the most widely used and popular drugs in human history. Despite its global impact, the phenomenon of tobacco has its roots in the Americas, from indigenous use to its introduction to European explorers in the fifteenth century. Tobacco can be considered one of the first true American commodities to enter the colonial export trade.

Proof of tobacco’s origins lies in the archaeological record. Along with piles of broken and discarded ceramics, corroded nails, and other artifacts, clay tobacco pipes are sprinkled on the trash heaps of historical archaeological sites, testifying to the popularity of smoking.

In this fascinating case study, Fox examines how tobacco use has influenced the evolution of an American cultural identity, including perceptions of glamour, individuality, patriotism, class, gender, ethnicity, and worldliness. She investigates the consumption of luxury goods in the pre-industrial era and the role tobacco played in an emerging capitalist world system and global economy.