Sustainable Archaeology: McMaster's Telecentric Microscope

Lena Zepf (pictured below) is a Masters student in the Department of Anthropology at McMaster University. Using Sustainable Archaeology: McMaster's telecentric microscope, Lena is examining smoking pipes from sites in Ontario.

Investigating cultural transformation in south-central Ontario: 

an examination of smoking pipes

My MA thesis investigates how smoking pipes change through time, and if certain changes to style can provide insight into cultural transformation in the context of shifting settlement strategies. The purpose of this investigation is two-fold, and consists of a visual and an attribute analysis of a series of sites in the Credit River watershed in Mississauga, and surrounding area. What I am looking for is evidence of style preferences and/or local stylistic changes. Sites of interest include the Wallace and Antrex sites (located at the University of Toronto in Mississauga), as well as the River and Chappell Terrace sites (found at the Peel Art Gallery Museum and Archives).

Sustainable Archaeology at McMaster Innovation Park has provided me with access to materials from some of the southern Ontario site collections as well access to a telecentric microscope, which has allowed me to observe ceramic tempers. Preliminary results, at this time, point towards site specific preferences in style, and in increase in pipe prevalence.