The code you posted works for me (did you try it?), and uses a reference to an array, see perlreftut. While the code doesn't contain a literal @list array, the data structure Perl uses to store it is the same, so you've still "used a Perl array".

Your question is unclear - what are you trying to achieve? Why do you want to "create an array without using a Perl array"? What kind of array are you trying to create?

Are you asking about lists in Perl? If so, here is one of several discussions on the differences between a list and an array.