What Tools and Weapons Did the Southwest Indians Use?
The main tools and weapons used by the Southwest Indians included spears and bows and arrows for hunting, spindles and looms for weaving, wooden hoes and rakes for farming and pump drills for digging holes in beads and shells. The term Southwest Indians often refers to the Pueblo Indians.
The Pueblo Indians consist of several tribes that lived in the Southwest of the United States. The Acoma, Zumi, Hopi and Taos are the best-known tribes of Pueblo Indians. Their economy was traditionally based on agriculture and trade and for this reason many of their tools are related to agricultural tasks. In most Pueblo tribes, men were responsible for warfare, hunting and farming, whereas women took care of the family and manufactured jewelry and clothing. The Southwest Indians used pottery and looms for weaving. For food preparation, they used grinding stones. They used stone receptacles to hold paint pigment. Baskets made from natural fibers such as willow or yucca were used for cooking and transporting goods. After many of the Pueblo tribes became sedentary, they stopped employing baskets for carrying and started to manufacture clay pots. Women were responsible for creating the pots by hand, without the help of a potter’s wheel.
