There is very little descriptive material on the technology of the
Pawnee. The manufacture of most of the utilitarian objects devolved on
the women. Pottery was manufactured by the paddle and anvil technique.
According to Grinnell (1912) a wooden or basketry mold was sometimes
used for the base. Temper was of crushed rock. They wove mats of
rushes, baskets of bark, and ropes of buffalo hair. Wooden mortars,
pestles, bowls, dippers and spoons were shaped by burning and scraping.
Bison horn was also employed for spoons. A stiff grass (_Stipa funcea_)
was used for necklaces. Hide dressing and the making of clothing
occupied a considerable portion of their time. A needle of deer
metacarpal was used. Canoes were seldom made.
The men confined their technological interests to weapons for hunting
and war. Bows were commonly four feet long and were made of “bois
d’arc” (_Maciura canadensis_), hickory, “coffee bean” (_Gymnocladus
canadensis_) and juniper. Formerly bison rib and elk-horn bows were
also in use. Sinew backing was common. Arrow shafts were usually of
dogwood (_Cornus stolonifera_). These had a series of three grooves
running their length, which were variously explained as helping the
flow of blood and keeping the arrow in the wound. These grooves were
made with a very small chisel-like instrument. No information is
available concerning flint working, but each tribe or large sub-group
made a distinctive type of projectile point. Much care was lavished on
this equipment and the accompanying skin quiver. Spears and rawhide
shields were also manufactured.