Different types of Calumets George Catlin Detail of engraving from Catlin's Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs and Condition of the North American Indians (1841). Many types of pipes were used on the Plains; calumets were distinguished by both form and function. Catlin was particularly interested in pipes, which were ornately decorated and charged with ritual meaning. A calumet similar to the top one depicted here was collected by Lewis and Clark

 

	h o m e i n t r o d u c t i o n o b j e c t s m a p r e s o u r c e s c r e d i t s The Ethnography of Lewis and Clark: Native American Objects and the American Quest for Commerce and Science Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University Copyright ©President and Fellows of Harvard College