Trying to find out if this is a clay pipe piece

[Alaskan Distractions]

I’m trying to find out if this is a clay pipe piece..I found it on the beach in Petersburg, Alaska and I am pretty sure it’s part of a pipe...I just have no clue what it’s made of or how old it might be...any info would be awesome!!

 

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[Red-Coat]

Isn't the bowl size also an indication of age? I seem to remember hearing that the older pipes had small bowls and they slowly got bigger as tobacco prices went down and it became more common

Yes, a small bowl is generally an indication of an early pipe and progressively increases up until the early-mid 18th Century. That, in combination with bowl shape and decoration, usually gets you to a reliable date, even without a maker's mark.



[Pic from "Evolution of Clay Tobacco Pipes in England" - Cambridge Archaeology Field Group]

One has to be careful of "Tavern Pipes" which may also have a very small bowl, even at later dates. These were pre-filled with a small amount of tobacco and 'rented' to tavern patrons at a modest price (say, a penny). They had a long stem, about an inch of which was snapped off when you returned the pipe, so it could be readied for the next customer (ugh!)

 

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[villagenut]

Definitely a pipe bowl frag as others stated..

 

[ANTIQUARIAN]

Absolutely a tobacco pipe. One interesting thing about clay pipes is that the diameter of the hole in the stem progressively decreases as the pipes become more recent. Probably because stem lengths were progressively decreasing. Although only 'verified' for pipes originating from Britain, it does at least provide some indication of date for clay pipes in general. Building on work by J. C. Harrington in the 1950s (he examined thousands of pipe stems excavated at Jamestown and other colonial Virginia sites) Louis Binford later devised a mathematical formula from which he derived the following table (the cut-off dates are of course not absolute):

9/64" bore dates to 1590-1620
8/64" bore dates to 1620-1650
7/64" bore dates to 1650-1680
6/64" bore dates to 1680-1720
5/64" bore dates to 1720-1750
4/64" bore dates to 1750-1800

The easiest way to check the bore is with set of small steel drill bits. Carefully insert the bits into the stem hole until you find one that fits exactly.

Fantastic background information and advice on checking the bore of the pipe stem to confirm the date.
Dave