Alate Stemmed Pipes

In the 50^th anniversary volume (Vol. 51, No.4) of the Central States Journal, Jim Maus reported on the background of these pipes. “Throughout Virginia the Carolinas and much of eastern North America is found, through quite rarely, a type of prehistoric smoking instrument that today is known as an obtuse angle alate pipe.” Jim explained that the “obtuse angle” comes from the angle of the pipe bowl to the stem. The name “alate” (meaning winged) describing the stem. George A. West (Milwalkee Public Museum 1939) referred to these pipes as “Monitor” pipes as he including them as a variant of the Platform pipe. Apparently, these pipes were produced by the “Sink Hole” or “Sunken Cave” people that lived in the mountains and foothills of southwestern Virginia and northwestern North Carolina. Examples of these pipes have been recovered from northern Georgia to New York state, but most are recovered from Virginia and North Carolina. Emma Fundaburk (Sun Circles and Human Hands) expands this area of distribution to include the Ohio Valley and adjoining states to the east. The top example of this pipe is from Rowan County, North Carolina and makes its common name “spade” or “trowel” pipe understandable. These pipes date to about 500 to 900 A.D. Most examples are made of steatite; however Maus indicates in another article published in volume 52 that other examples have been recovered that were made of sandstone, claystone (chlorite), or serpentine (Fundaburk). These pipes reach lengths of 175mm to 455mm with bowls that extend to as much as 200mm high. The decoration of the stem and the extent of the angle of the bowl differ with individual examples, but the design is basically the same. The example on the center right was recovered in Rockingham County, North Carolina and is engraved with the same concentric rectangles as the top example. The example on the center left was recovered at the Gaston site in North Carolina and also dates to the Middle Woodland period. The pipe on the lower left was recovered from a cave in northern Alabama. The pipe on the lower right, illustrated by Fundaburk, demonstrates the addition of the flanged rim to this type.