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BERNARD L FONTANA
beach. The skin was smeared with animals brains, trained in the root of
torote (Jatropha canascens) which had been crushed and left in water,
and softened finally by rubbing with a smooth stone. The skirts were made
of fringes hanging down from buckskin waist straps, and occasionally they
were painted red or orange with mineral or vegetal dyes. The men plaited
badger's hair to make twine to hold up their breech cloths and to make
ribbons for their own hair.
Tools of these nomads included bows fashioned from desert willow
growing along stream beds; arrows of arrow weed (Pluchea sericea)
plumed with hawk feathers; carrying nets of twined string; earthenware
pottery, virtually all of which was obtained in trade with Yuman Indians;
gourd water containers; baskets made of torote, willow, and other plants;
the harpooned fishing spear; stone grinding tools, including slab grinder,
handstone, and mortar and pestle; and stone projectile points. The farreaching western Papagos were not overburdened during their lengthy foot
travels by too much material culture. Much of what they had, moreover,
could be safely cached near where it was needed and left until the owners
returned.
The "houses" of these nomads were merely crude stone corrals or stone
sleeping circles. They were rings of medium-sized rocks, the cobbles being
stacked one or two courses high. Openings, when there were any, were away
from the prevailing wind. The Indians placed uprooted clumps of grass
against the rocks of these unroofed shelters for additional protection
against the wind. Much of the time, indeed, people simply slept on leveled
ground in the open, retreating to shelters only in cold or windy emergencies.
3. Relations with Other Homo sapiens
Judging from all accounts, the western Papagos were a tough and quarrelsome lot. As early as the 1680's they had fought with, and killed,
riverine-dwelling Piman Indians who apparently had invaded their territory
(Bolton, 1948, Vol. 1, pp. 123-124), and in about 1850 Papagos from
the desert to the east were given an unfriendly reception by them (Hayden,
1967, p. 341). One traveler early in the 20th century said these sand
people were " . . . rapacious and probably merciless to strangers, whether
Indian or Mexican" (Lumholtz, 1912, p. 329).
What good relations they had with other Homo sapiens seem to have
been with the Cocopas living on the Lower Colorado River. In return for
pottery and agricultural products, the Sand Papagos danced and sang for
the Cocopas, and they brought them salt and seashells.
The western nomads, unlike the remaining Pimans, have today disappeared as cultural entities. Many of them died of yellow fever about 1851;
BERNARD L FONTANA
beach. The skin was smeared with animals brains, trained in the root of
torote (Jatropha canascens) which had been crushed and left in water,
and softened finally by rubbing with a smooth stone. The skirts were made
of fringes hanging down from buckskin waist straps, and occasionally they
were painted red or orange with mineral or vegetal dyes. The men plaited
badger's hair to make twine to hold up their breech cloths and to make
ribbons for their own hair.
Tools of these nomads included bows fashioned from desert willow
growing along stream beds; arrows of arrow weed (Pluchea sericea)
plumed with hawk feathers; carrying nets of twined string; earthenware
pottery, virtually all of which was obtained in trade with Yuman Indians;
gourd water containers; baskets made of torote, willow, and other plants;
the harpooned fishing spear; stone grinding tools, including slab grinder,
handstone, and mortar and pestle; and stone projectile points. The farreaching western Papagos were not overburdened during their lengthy foot
travels by too much material culture. Much of what they had, moreover,
could be safely cached near where it was needed and left until the owners
returned.
The "houses" of these nomads were merely crude stone corrals or stone
sleeping circles. They were rings of medium-sized rocks, the cobbles being
stacked one or two courses high. Openings, when there were any, were away
from the prevailing wind. The Indians placed uprooted clumps of grass
against the rocks of these unroofed shelters for additional protection
against the wind. Much of the time, indeed, people simply slept on leveled
ground in the open, retreating to shelters only in cold or windy emergencies.
3. Relations with Other Homo sapiens
Judging from all accounts, the western Papagos were a tough and quarrelsome lot. As early as the 1680's they had fought with, and killed,
riverine-dwelling Piman Indians who apparently had invaded their territory
(Bolton, 1948, Vol. 1, pp. 123-124), and in about 1850 Papagos from
the desert to the east were given an unfriendly reception by them (Hayden,
1967, p. 341). One traveler early in the 20th century said these sand
people were " . . . rapacious and probably merciless to strangers, whether
Indian or Mexican" (Lumholtz, 1912, p. 329).
What good relations they had with other Homo sapiens seem to have
been with the Cocopas living on the Lower Colorado River. In return for
pottery and agricultural products, the Sand Papagos danced and sang for
the Cocopas, and they brought them salt and seashells.
The western nomads, unlike the remaining Pimans, have today disappeared as cultural entities. Many of them died of yellow fever about 1851;