# The Pima Indians/Technology/Artifacts/Wood

The Food Supply - Domestication of Animals - Agriculture - Trade - Artifacts Wood · Stone · Fiber and Leather · Pottery · Basketry · Textiles · Architecture · Clothing
TECHNOLOGY
Artifacts
WOOD
Weapons
​Arrows. The arrows of the Pimas are made from the straight stem of the arrow bush. The Kwahadkʽs and Papagos sometimes sold arrows of yucca stem to the Gileños, but these were scarcely equal in quality to those made of wood. The hunting arrows (pl. XIII, c) have two split feathers, two hand's breadths in length. War arrows have three feathers, less than half as long and slightly Fig. 9. War clubs. curved. All arrow shafts are measured and cut the length from tip of forefinger to nipple of breast of the maker. Both bows and arrows are sometimes stained with the blood of the jack rabbit, and war arrows may be dyed at the ends with the cochineal which makes its home on the Opuntias. The quiver is made of wild-cat skin (pl. XIII, d).
War club. The club was of scarcely less importance than the bow, and it was customary for a portion of each band of warriors to fight with shield and club alone.
Agricultural Implements
Digging stick. The earliest agricultural implement was the digging stick. It was used in planting maize and other crops, as a lever to pry out bushes when clearing the ground, as a pick when digging irrigating ditches, and in case of surprise it made an effective weapon of defense. It was made of ironwood or from the spiny tree, Zizyphus lycioides. The short handle necessitated a crouching or sitting position by the operator. (Fig. 10, a.)
| a | b | c | d |
| Fig. 10. Agricultural implements. a, Digging stick; b, shovel; c, hoe; d, dibble. |
Shovel. Wooden shovels were used to throw out the earth that usually required loosening by the digging stick when constructing the irrigating canal. They were of cottonwood, in the case of the larger, lighter ones, or of mesquite. The handle and blade were in one piece, the former being very short and the latter having the natural curve of the trunk from which it came. (Fig. 10, b.)
Hoe. Another implement of early adoption by the Pimas combined the functions of spade and hoe. It was used to loosen the soil around plants and to cut away weeds. It was made of ironwood and was thin, hard, and heavy. As it was quite short and curved but slightly it could be used only when the workman was in a kneeling or sitting position. It was sharpened along the convex curve at the wider end. The entire implement was so thin that it must have chafed the hands. But one specimen was found on the reservation (fig. 10, c).
Dibble. The implement described above was superseded by one obtained from the Mexicans who frequently came to trade with the Pimas. The new implement more nearly resembled the primitive digging stick than it did the flat "hoe" (fig. 10, d). It was furnished ​with a steel blade that was straight on one side and rounded on the other.
* ↑ "The mulberry plays an important part in the domestic economy of the Apaches; the branches are made into bows, and the small twigs are used in the fabrication of baskets." John G. Bourke, Jour. Am. Folk-Lore, III, 210.
* ↑ Length 1.350 m., width at grip 26 mm., thickness 18 mm.
* ↑ Length 1.365 m., width at grip 26 mm., thickness 22 mm.
* ↑ There are eleven hunting arrows in the collection; length 0.785 m., sharpened to blunt points but having neither head nor foreshaft. There are 3 bands of sinew 4 cm. apart, the first at the point. The seizing at the forward end of the feathers is 5 cm. long. The feathers vary from 12 to 22 cm. in length between the seizing at ends. They project 1 cm. from the shaftment. There are 10 bands of sinew very neatly laid on to hold the feathers in place. The notches are 4 mm. deep.
* ↑ The single war arrow in the collection is unusually long, 0.850 m. It is stained with cochineal for a distance of 0.117 m. from the point. It carries a small obsidian point 2 cm. in length, with the sinew seizing continued from the point 3 cm. along the shaft. The feathers are 0.10 cm. long and project 7 mm. from the shaftment. The butt is stained for a distance of 5 cm.
* ↑ Bartlett, usually an admirable observer, failed to notice that the war club was a popular Pima weapon. He says: "The only weapon used by these tribes is the bow and arrow. The short club of the Yumas and the long lance of the Apaches I never saw among them." (Personal Narrative, II, 237.) The clubs were made of mesquite root or of ironwood, weighed about 2 pounds, and in general appearance resembled the old style potato mashers of New England kitchens. (Fig. 9.) The handle was brought to a sharp point, which was almost as effective as a dagger in a back-handed blow. The club was carried thrust point downward through the belt. One club was obtained from its owner and another found in a cache of personal property that had been made in the hills at the death of the owner. The former is 42 cm. long, the head 10 cm. long and 9 cm. in diameter; the point is 9 cm. long. A club in the National Museum, (no. 27846) that was collected some years ago at Sacaton is 0.385 m. long, 7 cm. in diameter. Doctor Palmer secured three in 1885 and believed that none remained among the Pimas. These clubs, now in the Museum, are of the following lengths: no. 76023, 48 cm.; 76024, 44 cm.; and 76025, 46 cm.
* ↑ The collection contains a wooden lance, made from a giant cactus rib, that was carried in sham battles near the Double buttes. It is 1.595 m. long, the larger end colored black to represent the iron head, which is represented as 0.265 m. long, 24 mm. wide, and 10 mm. thick. The handle is stained a light red.
* ↑ No genuine specimen being now obtainable, the writer had a digging stick (fig. 10, a) made, which measures 1.140 m. in length. It is 40 mm. in diameter, and is fattened at the lower end.
* ↑ The old people yet remember how the wooden shovels were made. Whether the Pimas have directiy descended from the Hohokam or not, it is very probable that the former have used the same form of shovel that was used by the latter when constructing the great irrigating canals of that region. The specimen figured here (fig. 10, b) may therefore be accepted as a representative of the shovel that was probably the instrument that made those canals a possibility. It is 0.850 m. long; the blade is 0.276 m. long and 0.167 m. wide.
* ↑ It is 0.680 m. long and 0.083 m. wide; the cutting edge is 17 cm. long.
* ↑ Length, 1.090 m.; length of blade, 0.215 m. to top of socket; width, 0.115 m.
* ↑ Two specimens were collected; only one other was seen or heard of on the reservation. The larger one is complete, with tongue. It is 0.900 m. long; handle, 0.850 m., and tongue 3.490 m.
* ↑ A mallet in the collection measures 0.380 m. in length and 5 cm. in diameter.
​Yoke. With the introduction of cattle the Pimas obtained their first draft animal. They were used principally in plowing and were fitted with yokes (fig. 12) of cottonwood or willow which were attached to the horns of the animals as in southern Europe to the present day. The yokes themselves are the best evidence that the burden upon the animals was light, for these small sticks of brittle wood would snap at the first strain if on the shoulders of an ox team with a heavy load. There are a few yokes yet to be found, though they have not been used for several years. The specimens collected are fairly well made, straight, but with sections hollowed to fit the necks of the team.
* a
* c
* d
* Fig. 13. a, b, Mortars; c, wooden pestle; d, bread tray.
Household Utensils
Mortar. Perhaps the mortar should be placed first in importance among the utensils of this class. There are two forms, one (fig. 13, a) with the hole sunk in the end of the log, and which may be either sharpened at the other end and set permanently in the ground or cut flat at the opposite end so that it will stand upright and may be moved about. The other style (fig. 13, b) lies horizontal, with the hole in the side of the log. This is always portable.
Two or three stone mortars, rounded and well shaped, were seen; they had been obtained from the ruins and were little used. At the Double buttes, near the center of the Gila River reservation, there are a few mortar cavities in the solid rock ledges. There is also one in a large bowlder which is regarded with superstitious reverence. Mortars in solid stone are not uncommon in Arizona. The writer saw a row of them at the end of a cliff ruin of eight or ten rooms in Aravaipa canyon. There are several in a rough hillock in Harshaw canyon, Patagonia mountains. The base of the conical hill at Tucson is well ​pitted with them, They are occasionally met with almost anywhere in the eastern half of the Territory. With that portion west of the Rio Verde the writer is unacquainted. Reference to the pages devoted to a description of the plants that furnish food for the Pimas will show how extensively the mortar is used in grinding seeds.
Pestle. For pounding up mesquite beans in the mortar a large wooden pestle is sometimes used. It is simply a mesquite club with rounded head (fig. 13, c).
* ↑ The mortar of the horizontal type in the collection is perhaps a trifle smaller than the average. It measures 40 cm. in length, 27 cm. in height, and 22 cm. in thickness. A heavy specimen of this type in the collection measures 37 cm. in height, 32 cm. in diameter; the cavity is 17 cm. deep.
* ↑ One specimen, the only one seen, was secured. It is 1.210 m. long and the head is 0.335 m. in diameter.
| a | b | c |
| Fig. 14. a, Doughnut fork; b, ladle; c, unfinished ladle. |
​Fork. In frying doughnuts it is necessary to have some instrument with which to remove them from the fat. A slender sharpened rod Fig. 15. Pottery paddle.of arrowwood is used for this purpose (fig. 14, a).
Ladle. Ladles are said to be of recent introduction, the Pimas having obtained them from the Papagos, who in turn had derived the art of making them from the Mexicans. They are commonly made of mesquite, though the Papagos make them of paloverde wood. The bowls are not rounded, but are made in the shape of a flattened cone, Fig. 16, a. Hanging shelf. as they can be more readily worked into that form with a straight-bladed knife.
Pottery paddle. A paddle of cottonwood is used to shape the outer surface of pottery. It is hollowed to fit the convex surface of the vessel, and is now frequently made from a barrel stave, which has the proper curvature. The paddles are of varying sizes, according to the sizes of the vessels on which they are used, but the handles are always proportionately short.
Shelves. There is a class of objects that are used indifferently for doors of sheds and houses, for shelves that are suspended in the arbors, and for bird traps. They are usually made of large arrowbush rods, which are quite straight and of uniform diameter. The rods are tied to cross pieces, as shown in figure 16, a, or are held by twisted cords of hide, as in figure 16, b. The latter specimen was ​serving as a door when purchased, and the fact that a "Melicano" wanted it caused its owners great astonishment and amusement. Indeed, the Pimas manifested a lively interest in our purchases of Fig. 16, b. Door. household articles and never failed to laugh at the spectacle presented by the little wagon half buried beneath its load of unassorted objects.
Bird cage. The cages made by the Pimas are all of the same character, whether they are made for the large eagle or for the small Sonora dove, as in the case of the specimen figured (fig. 17). They are of arrowwood, laid up in log-cabin style or tied to transverse bars, as in the house doors.
Kiâhâ frame. It is to be remembered that the peculiar form of carrying basket is made possible by the use of the wooden frame. It is fully described on page 140.
Fire drill. In primitive times fire was kindled by the Pimas by means of a two-part drill (fig. 18, a), the simplest and most widespread form of fire drill. The operator knelt upon the ends of the hearth stick and twirled the upright stick between his palms. The Fig. 17. Bird cage. hearth was of saguaro wood or of any other soft wood if that were not obtainable. Tinder was not used, the flame being developed in any inflammable material as soon as the smoke began to arise from the dust accumulated at the point of the drill.
Miscellaneous
Saguaro hook. The fruit of the giant cactus grows at so great a height that it can not be reached without the aid of some long-handled implement for dislodging it. Hooks are made by attaching, by means of maguey fiber, a straight piece of wood to the end of a long cactus rib. Doctor McGee has called the writer's attention to the fact that the angle at which the hook stands is of great ceremonial importance among the Papagos, but there would seem to be no significance attached to it by the Pimas, who have not been so dependent upon the cactus in the past as have their nomadic neighbors.
| a | b | c |
| Fig. 18. a, Fire drill; b, saguaro hook; c, haʼnûm tweezers. |
Tweezers. The spiny fruit of Opuntia arborescens is picked by means of willow tweezers (fig. 18, c). The arms are flexible and sufficiently elastic to spring back into place readily.
Tree. It was formerly the custom to erect a branched post in the space before the house door, on which to hang vessels or bags containing food. Of late a few (three were seen) "tree animals" are set in the ground near the buildings to serve as seats and for the children to play upon. They are sections of mesquite trees that have each a branch perpendicular to the plane of the trunk at a point where the latter bends in the opposite direction slightly, so that when the branch is set in the ground the trunk is horizontal with the exception of the end which curves upward in a manner somewhat resembling a vaulting horse.
Cradle. The frame of the cradle is of willow, in the form of a narrow bow with from 5 to 10 cross bars (fig. 19, a). It closely resembles the Mohave trellis frame, but is more rudely made. The frame was formerly covered with shredded willow bark to a depth of 3 or 4 inches and a bit of cotton cloth covered the whole. Now the willow bark is not so thick, and much more cloth, no longer of native make, is used. The cradle (fig. 19, b) is provided with a detachable ​hood made of willow bark in the checker style of weaving, the surface being ornamented in geometric patterns colored black and red. Over the hood a loose piece of cloth may be thrown to protect the occupant from flies. The babies when strapped closely in the cradles are frequently carried on the heads of their mothers, who may at the Fig. 19, a. Cradle frame. same time have no insignificant burdens in their hands. When the children are about a year old they are carried astride the hip, unless upon a journey, when they are shifted around to the back, still astride, and there supported by a shawl or large cloth bound around the waist. The writer has seen women with children of 2 or 3 years on their backs, each carrying a sack of wheat on her head and lighter bundles in her hands.
Paint brush. The lines of pigment with which the face was formerly ornamented were applied by means of slender bits of arrowwood two or three inches long. The Kwahadk‘s were accustomed to Fig. 19, b. Cradle. the tufted ends of the arrow-bush branches and carry them southward into Papagueria to be used as paint brushes.
Calender sticks. The Pimas keep a record of passing events by means of sticks carved with arbitrary mnemonic symbols. There are five such records in the tribe to-day—or were a year ago. The oldest of these sticks bears the history of seventy years. There were other sticks before these, but the vicissitudes of war, fire, and the peculiar burial customs of the people made away with them. There are three sticks in the collection, which have been designated Gila Crossing, Blackwater, and Casa Blanca calendars, from the names of the villages whence they came. The Casa Blanca stick (fig. 20, a) is of willow, peeled, ​slightly flattened, but otherwise bearing no signs of preparation for the symbols that occupy the greater part of one side. The Gila Crossing calendar (fig. 20, b) is a pine stick on which the record was copied several years ago from a stick yet in the same village. The record begins on the back, passes over the lower end in the figure, and extends again to the back over the upper end. The Blackwater stick (fig. 20, c) is of saguaro wood smoothed and carved for the writer by the keeper of the record, who lost the original some years ago and who has since been using paper and pencil, but the same symbols.
| a | b | c |
| Fig. 20. Calendar sticks. a, From Casa Blanca; b, from Gila Crossing; c, from Blackwater. |
Spurs. Wooden spurs were made from crotched limbs of mesquite of suitable size. They were attached to the foot by a deerskin thong fastened to form two loops of equal size, one passing over the instep and the other under the heel of the foot. So rare have they now become that the writer spent six months on the Gila River reservation without Fig. 21. Wooden spur. discovering any, and therefore hired an old man to make a pair for the collection. Soon afterwards a single old spur was found, which differs from those made to order only in having deerskin instead of maguey fiber fastenings (fig. 21).
​Awl. There would seem to be no tradition of the former use of bone awls among the Pimas. They declare that awls of mesquite wood were used in making baskets before the introduction of steel. At present the points are of pieces of umbrella rib set in wooden handles of native manufacture (fig. 22, a). It will be observed that the upper end of the handle is provided with a button, so that it may be held between the third and fourth fingers while the thumb and other fingers are engaged in the manipulation of the basket splints. Handles of round balls of creosote gum are also used (fig. 22, b).
| a | b |
| Fig. 22. Awls. a, Wooden handle; b, gum handle. |
Rope twister. This apparatus is probably of European origin. It consists of a pin or handle of hard wood, such as mesquite or willow, which is thrust through a hole near the end of another stick, which acts as a spindle whorl. The latter piece has a button at the short end, to which are attached the maguey fibers or horse hairs (fig. 23). The operator, by a slight rising and falling motion of the handle, causes the spindle to revolve rapidly, thus twisting the fibers into a cord which lengthens as he steps backward. A second person meanwhile adds fresh fibers to the other end.
​The second bundle is painted green. Each stick is whittled to a blunt point at one end and has two short, downy turkey feathers attached (pl. XIV, b).
Fig. 24. Âʽmĭna with reed cloud blower and attached feathers. The third bundle contains two sets of 4 sticks each, which were originally painted blue. They are sharpened to tapering points at one end. To each stick is tied two of the tail feathers of some small bird (pl. XIV, a).
The fourth bundle contains three sets of 4 sticks each and the remains of another set which probably contained 4, though it is so old that it is in a fragmentary condition (pl. XIV, d). A bundle of feathers attached by strings is bound in with the â’mĭna, each one of which also bears two feathers, all the feathers being from a red-colored bird.
The fifth bundle contains three sets of 4 sticks each, but they are so old and broken that their original length can not be determined. They also have red feathers bound to them (pl. XIV, c).
The sixth bundle is very small and very old and it is probable that the unusual number of sticks—5—is due to the fact that a Fig. 25, a. Horned toad effigy. portion of the bundle has crumbled with age (pl. XIV, e).
Animal effigies. Wooden images of reptiles and the like are used in the medicine-men's efforts to cure certain diseases. Two such specimens were collected. One is intended to. represent a horned toad (fig. 25, a), the other a lizard (fig. 25, b). They are either carelessly or clumsily made.
Mask. During his stay among the Pimas the writer heard of but Fig. 25, b. Lizard effigy. two wooden masks being in their possession. One of these was collected and is here depicted in figure 26. Doctor Hough called his attention to the fact that it resembles those made by the Yaquis of Sonora, and it ​ Fig. 26. Navitco mask. is probable that the conception, if not the mask itself, was imported from the southward along with the masked Navitco ceremonies, despite the assertion of its former owner to the contrary, because it represents a higher degree of skill in woodworking than any piece of carving that the writer has seen done by a Pima. It is of cottonwood, perforated for the insertion of horsehair eyebrows, chin whisker, and two tufts on the center of each cheek, and is ornamented by an interrupted scroll and other lines unmistakably intended to be decorative. The mouth contains a half dozen pegs, giving a very realistic representation of teeth.
Wand. There are two wands or ceremonial sticks in the collection (fig. 27). The longer is of greasewood, Sarcobatus vermicularis, the material prescribed for ia’kita, or ceremonial paraphernalia of this class. It is spotted with black and red paint. The shorter wand is of willow, spotted with red. Both were made to be held in the hand during ceremonies intended to bring rain, to cure disease, and for kindred purposes.
* ↑ The specimen collected is 45 cm. long.
* ↑ The finished specimen in the collection is rather smaller than the average (fig. 14, b). It is 0.394 m. long. The bowl is 94 mm. in diameter and 42 mm. deep. The unfinished specimen (fig. 14, c) is a large one, measuring 0.570 m. in length. The National Museum contains a specimen, no. 76050, which measures 56 cm. in length, with bowl 15 cm. in diameter.
* ↑ The collection contains one which is 0.268 m. long and 0.112 m. wide (fig. 15).
* ↑ The door (fig. 16, b) is 1 m. long and 0.850 m. wide. The rods are from 1 to 2 centimeters in diameter and are held by 5 hide strands, 2 at each end and 1 in the middle. The stiffening of the rawhide has warped the upper portion.
* ↑ The shelf (fig. 16, a) is 1.050 m. long and 50 cm. wide.
* ↑ When used as traps they are tilted at an angle of 20° or 30° from the ground and supported in that position by a short stick to which a long cord is attached. Wheat strewn under the trap lures small birds, which are caught when a jerk on the line removes the supporting stick. One of these traps was seen at nearly every house during the winter of 1901–2.
* ↑ This specimen has an arched top and a single piece of pine board for a floor. It is 32 cm. long by 23 cm. wide and 15 cm. high.
* ↑ The drill hearth in the collection is 0.315 m. long and 21 mm. wide. The spindle is 68 cm. long and 9 mm. in diameter.
* ↑ See pl. IX, a, where the saguaro appears in flower in the background.
* ↑ The specimen illustrated in fig. 18, b was cut short for convenience of carrying. The handles vary in length from 2 to 5 m. The hook is 165 mm. long and 8 mm. in diameter.
* ↑ The specimen collected is 31 cm. long; natural spread of jaws, 55 mm.
* ↑ See Mason In Report National Museum, 1894, 524.
* ↑ Doctor Palmer says that as soon as a child is old enough to stand alone the mother carries it on an immense cincture of bark worn on her back. The author saw no such cinctures in use and believes that their use has been abandoned.
* ↑ Mason, Cradles, In Report National Museum, 1887, 184.
* ↑ The frame of the cradle figured is 67 cm. long by 20 cm. wide. The hood is 38 cm. high.
* ↑ See p. 35. They are mentioned here merely for the purpose of describing the sticks as products of the woodworker's skill.
* ↑ The Casa Blanca calendar is not recorded in "The Narrative," p. 38.
* ↑ Length, 93 cm.; diameter, 16 mm.
* ↑ Length, 96 cm.; diameter, 18 mm.
* ↑ Length, 1.395m.; diameter, 20 mm.
* ↑ Length, 0.152 m.; spread across fork, 9 cm.
* ↑ Length of specimen (fig. 22, a) 0.103 m., of which 56 mm. is handle.
* ↑ Deposited on the branches of the creosote bush by the minute scale insect, Carteria larreæ.
* ↑ Length, 3 cm.; diameter of handle, 24 mm.
* ↑ Length of pin, 0.254 m.; diameter, 8 mm.; length of spindle, 32 cm.
* ↑ Length, 0.167 m.; diameter, 6 mm.
* ↑ Length, 0.155 m.; diameter, 21 mm. The feathers an a trifle shorter than the sticks.
* ↑ Length, 0.136 m.; diameter, 10 mm.
* ↑ Length of sticks, 17 cm.; diameter, 7 mm.
* ↑ Length, 10 cm.; width, 42 mm.
* ↑ Length, 28 cm.; width, 4 cm.
* ↑ Length, 0.208 m.; width, 0.153 m.
* ↑ Length of the longer figure, 76 cm.; of the shorter, 28 cm.