Designs on prehistoric Hopi pottery

THE RUIN, SIKYATKI

Reading edition

The ruins of the ancient pueblo of Sikyatki, consisting of mounds and a few outcropping walls, are situated on rocky elevations rising from the sand hills at the eastern or sunny base of the East Mesa, about 3 miles from the modern Hopi pueblo of Walpi in northeastern Arizona. The founders of Sikyatki are said, in very circumstantial migration legends, to have belonged to a [Keres?] clan called the Kokop, or Firewood, which previously lived in a pueblo near Jemez, New Mexico. Preliminary excavations were made at Sikyatki, under the author’s direction, by the Smithsonian Institution in 1895, when there was obtained, chiefly from its cemeteries, a valuable collection of pottery, most of which is now installed in the National Museum.⁠[1]⁠

Little is known of the history of Sikyatki save through tradition, but enough has been discovered to show that it was abandoned before 1540, the year of the visit to Tusayan of Pedro Tovar, an officer of the Coronado expedition. It was probably settled much earlier, perhaps about the time the Bear clans, also said to have come from the Jemez region, built the first houses of Walpi near the point of the terrace at the west or cold side of the East Mesa, below the present settlement.⁠[2] Both of these prehistoric pueblos occupied sites exposed to attack by enemies and were not built on mesa tops, hence it may be assumed that there were no enemies to fear in Tusayan at the time of their establishment. But later, when the Snake clans from the north joined the Bear settlement at Walpi, trouble seems to have commenced. As above mentioned, the Bear clans came from the same region as the Kokop and were presumably friendly, probably kin of the Sikyatkians; but the Snake clans came from Tokonabi, in the north, and were no doubt of foreign stock, implying a hostility that may have been the indirect cause of the overthrow of Sikyatki and Awatobi by the other Hopi.

The two epochs in Hopi ceramic development that can be distinguished with certainty are (1) the Sikyatki epoch and (2) the Tanoan or historic epoch. The third, or renaissance, of the Sikyatki dates back to 1895, and may be called the modern epoch. The Sikyatki epoch gave way to the Tanoan about the beginning of the eighteenth century. It did not develop from any group preexisting in the neighborhood of the present Hopi pueblos but was derived from the east and it ceased suddenly, being replaced by a totally different group introduced by radically different clans.⁠[3]⁠

Sikyatki Epoch

The most characteristic Hopi pottery bearing symbols of the Sikyatki epoch occurs in a few ruins near the Hopi mesas, but from lack of exploration it is impossible to determine the boundaries of the area in which it is found.

Several museums contain collections of Hopi ware of this epoch, among which may be mentioned the National Museum at Washington, the Field Columbian Museum of Natural History at Chicago, the Museum of the University of Pennsylvania, the Peabody Museum at Cambridge, and the Museum für Volkerkünde at Berlin, Germany. Many bowls of this epoch are likewise found in the American Museum of Natural History, New York, and in the Museum of the Brooklyn Institute. Several private collections in Europe and the United States likewise contain specimens of Sikyatki ware, among them being that gathered by the late Dr. Miller, now at Phoenix, Arizona. The collection of prehistoric Hopi pottery in the National Museum is particularly rich, containing many specimens gathered by the Stevenson expeditions, by the author, and by Dr. Hough, of the U. S. National Museum.

The symbols on the ancient pottery from the Middle Mesa of the Hopi are almost identical with those of Sikyatki, indicating a similarity of culture, a common geographical origin, and a synchronous culture. From the character of the symbols on the ancient pottery from the ancient Middle Mesa pueblos it is probable that the clans who founded them came, like the colonists who settled Sikyatki, from the Jemez plateau in New Mexico. Although the Field collection is very rich in old Walpi ware, nothing of importance has been published on the symbols of this collection; it contains some of the most instructive examples of the Sikyatki epoch. A large and probably the most valuable portion of this collection was gathered by Dr. George A. Dorsey and Mr. Charles L. Owen, while many pieces were purchased from Mr. Frank Wattron, of Holbrook, and from the late Mr. T. V. Keam, of Keams Canyon, Arizona. The source of many of the Wattron specimens is unknown, but it is evident from their decoration that some of them are ancient Hopi and probably belong to the Sikyatki epoch and came from Shongopovi, Awatobi, or Sikyatki.

Shortly before his death Mr. T. V. Keam sold to the Museum für Volkerkünde at Berlin, Germany, a rich collection of pottery obtained mainly from Awatobi and Sikyatki, containing several specimens of the Sikyatki epoch which are highly instructive. Some of the designs on the pottery of this collection are unique, and their publication would be a great aid to a study of the most important epoch of Hopi ceramics.

A large proportion of life-forms used in the decoration of Sikyatki pottery are mythological subjects, showing the predominance of supernatural beings and their magic power in the minds of the makers. Like a child, the primitive artist is fond of complexity of detail, and figures in which motion is indicated appealed more to his fancy than those objects that do not move. It needs but a glance at the ancient Sikyatki life-figures to show a tendency to represent detail and to convince one of the superiority of the Sikyatki potters in this respect over those of modern times. There has been a gradual deterioration, not only less care being now devoted to the technique of the pottery but also to the drawing of the figures. This lack in itself is significant, for while modern ware reflects in its hasty crudeness the domination of commercialism, the ancient pottery shows no indication of such influence. Pottery is now made to please the purchaser; in ancient times another motive influenced the maker, for then it was a product worthy of the highest use to which it could be put, since it often formed a part of sacred paraphernalia in religious ceremonies.

Human Figures

Sikyatki pictures of human beings depict men and women, singly or in company, and are few in number and crude in execution. Organs of the body—hands, feet, arms, and legs—are often represented separately. The hand is portrayed on two vessels, and the foot, elaborately drawn, appears on another; as a general thing when parts of the body are represented they are greatly conventionalized. The few human figures on Sikyatki pottery are crude representations as compared with those of animals, and especially of birds. Several of the figures are represented wearing ancient costumes and ornaments, and one or two have their hair done up in unusual styles; others have the body or face tattooed or painted; but as a whole these decorations are rare and shed little light on prehistoric customs. There is nothing that can be identified as a time count, calendric, hieroglyphic, or phonetic signs, or any record of historical events.

Fig. 12.—Human head with hair in characteristic whorls. Fig. 13.—Woman with serpent-like animal.

Illustration from Designs on prehistoric Hopi pottery

None of the human figures are represented with masks or headdresses to indicate the impersonation of kachinas, nor are there double figures or animal heads depicted on human bodies. The absence of animal or kachina heads shows one of the marked differences between Sikyatki pictures and the designs so common on some other pottery, where a relatively large number of the heads of the latter occur. The best representation of a human head is shown in figure 12,⁠[4] in which a characteristic coiffure is shown. Fig. 13 is identified as a figure of a maiden whose hair is dressed in two whorls, one above each ear, like a modern Hopi maid.⁠[5] Opposite this maid is a reptile or similar animal with head decorated with two eyes on one side and a single foreleg. These two figures probably refer to some episode or Indian legend connecting a Sikyatki maiden with some monster.

The maiden depicted in figure 14 is evidently kneeling, her knees being brought together below, and separated by four median parallel lines that are supposed to indicate feathers; the curved objects at the lower corners of the rectangular blanket probably are also feathers. One hand of the maiden is raised to her head, while the other holds an unknown object, possibly an ear of corn. The woman with an ear of corn recalls a figure on the elaborately painted wooden slab carried by women in the Hopi Marau dance or that on the wooden slab, or monkohu, carried by the priests representing Alosaka, Eototo, and other ceremonial personages. These painted slabs do not always bear pictures of corn ears, for those of the priests known as the Aaltû have, instead of pictures of corn, the corn itself tied to them; in the New-fire ceremony at Walpi members of the Tataukyamû priesthood, at Walpi, also hold ears of corn with or without wooden slabs, while those borne by the warrior Kwakwantû are carved in the form of the sacred plumed serpent, which is their patron.⁠[6]⁠

Fig. 14.—Kneeling woman, showing hair in characteristic whorls. Fig. 15.—Three human figures.

Different styles of hairdressing are exhibited in figures 13 and 14, that of figure 14 being similar to the modern Hopi. The group of three figures (fig. 15) possibly illustrates some ancient ceremony. The middle figure of this group is represented as carrying a branched stick, or cornstalk, in his mouth.⁠[7] The accompanying figure, or that to the right, has in his hand one of the strange frames used as rattles⁠[8] in historic times by clans (Asa or Honani) of Jemez or of Tewa descent who had settled at the East Mesa. The author is inclined to identify the object held by this figure as one of these ceremonial frames and the man as a Yaya priest.

Another interpretation of the central figure of the group, figure 15, is that he is performing the celebrated stick-swallowing act which was practiced at Walpi until a few years ago. The last explanation suggested implies that the human figures represent Snake and Antelope priests, a doubtful interpretation, since, according to legends, these priests were never represented at Sikyatki.⁠[9]⁠

The character shown in another figure, not copied, may represent the supernatural being, called the God of the Dead (Masauû) whose body, according to legend, is spotted and girt by bands. The Little Fire god (Shulewitse), when personated in modern ceremonies of the Tewa at Hano, is represented by a man daubed with pigments of several colors. He is personated likewise in the Hopi (Tewa) village of Sichomovi.⁠[10]⁠

Several Zuñi ceremonies show evidence of derivation from eastern New Mexican pueblos,⁠[11] but a critical examination of the origin and migration of Zuñi clan relations of societies still awaits the student of this interesting pueblo. It is probable that Zuñi sociology is in some respects like that of Walpi and that the present population is composite, having descended from clans which have drifted together from different directions, each bringing characteristic ceremonies and mythological conceptions, while certain rites have been incorporated from time to time from other Pueblo people.

Quadruped Figures

Representations of quadrupeds are almost as rare as human figures in Sikyatki pottery decorations. The deer (fig. 16, a), antelope, mountain sheep, mountain lion, rabbit, and one or two other animals are recognizable, but pictures of these are neither so common nor so highly conventionalized as those of birds.

Fig. 16.—a, Deer; b, rabbit.

Figure 17 shows one of two mammalian figures on a bowl, the surrounding surface consisting of spatterwork, an uncommon but effective mode of treatment.

The outline of the animal shown in figure 18 is intensified by spattering, as in the case of the animal last mentioned. The black spots along the back and tail are absent in other figures. The design below the figure suggests, in some particulars, that of a highly conventionalized shrine, but its true meaning is unknown.

Fig. 17.—Quadruped. Fig. 18.—Antelope or mountain sheep.

The design in figure 19 has been regarded as representing a mountain lion, but there is some doubt of the validity of this identification. Although the feet are like those of a carnivorous animal, the head is not. The two projections from the head, which may represent horns, are not unlike those associated with the two figures next described, which have been regarded as feathers.

The creature shown in figure 20 is also problematical. The appendages to the head are prolonged, terminating in feathers that bend backward and touch the body. The anterior body appendage has two crescentic prolongations between which are parallel lines of unequal length. The posterior limb is jointed, the lower half extending backward and terminating in two claws, one long, the other short. Between these extensions are two groups of slightly radiating lines that may be regarded as feathers. The body has feathers like those of a highly conventionalized bird, while the limbs resemble those of a lizard. The body is serpentine, and tail feathers are wanting; both legs have talons like those of birds, and the appendage to the head suggests a feather headdress; the line connecting the head appendage and one claw of the posterior limbs recalls a sky-band, commonly found in representations of sky gods.

Fig. 19.—Mountain lion. Fig. 20.—Problematical reptile.

The animal depicted in figure 21, which resembles figure 19 in the form of the appendages to the head and mouth, is suspended inside of a circle in the one case and is half within a circle in the other.

Reptilian Figures

Several figures of reptiles and serpents occur in the Sikyatki collection. Figure 22 represents an animal like a reptile; only two legs are shown in the design and the form of the tail recalls that of a bird. The head of this figure bears two horns resembling feathers in some respects; the legs terminate in four claws. From a projection at the posterior end of the body there arises a curved line dotted at intervals and terminating in feathers. The dorsal appendage resembles the carapace of a turtle, from beneath which feathers project.

Fig. 21.—Reptile. Fig. 22.—Reptile.

Figure 22 depicts a reptile from the head of which project horns and two long feathers. Its back bears a row of feathers, but it has only two legs.

The legless creature, figure 23, has two triangular earlike feathers rising from the head, and two eyes; a wide-open mouth, in which are six long, curved teeth, three in each jaw. The tongue terminates in an arrow-shaped figure, recalling a conventional symbol of lightning, or the death-dealing power of the serpent. The meaning of the narrow line connecting the upper jaw with the tail is not known. The curved shape of the body of the reptile is necessitated by the shape of the bowl on which it is drawn. This figure may represent the monster feathered serpent of Sikyatki, or a flying reptile, one of the most mysterious of the elemental gods. It is interesting to note that while the effigies of the feathered serpent used in Hopi (Walpi) and Zuñi religious practices has a single horn on the head, the one here described is different from both, for it is provided with two appendages resembling conventionalized feathers. The Hopi feathered serpent was derived from the same source as the Zuñi, namely, clans which originally came to the Little Colorado from Gila Valley.⁠[12]⁠

Fig. 23.—Reptile. Fig. 24.—Reptile.

The Hopi (Walpi) figure is in a measure comparable with that shown in figure 23—each has two hornlike feathers on the head, and the bodies are curved in the same direction—that is, with the center (?) on the right (dextral circuit), the reverse of modern Hopi pictures, which are placed as if the figures were moving in a sinistral circuit.⁠[13]⁠

The form shown in figure 24 reminds one of a frog or a turtle. The body and feet are turtlelike. As in several pictures of reptiles, it is provided with an anterior appendage, evidently the front leg, which has characteristic claws. The row of white dots extending from the mouth through the neck represents the esophagus or windpipe. The author is unable to offer any interpretation of the appendages to the tail, but suggests that they may have been intended for feathers. Figure 25 a, b, is identified as a turtle.

Figure 26 was evidently designed to represent several tadpoles swimming across a bowl between rows of rain clouds, the whole inclosed in a circle to which are attached five stars at approximately equal intervals. The form of the rain clouds reminds one of conventional tail feathers. There are six of these rain-cloud figures on one side of the field of decoration and five on the other. The tadpoles shown in figure 27 occur on the inside of the ladle.

Winged Figures

The term “winged figures” is here employed to designate all flying creatures, as birds, insects, and bats, even though they belong zoologically to different groups of animals. Among the prehistoric Hopi, insects and birds were designated by similar symbols and when highly conventionalized sometimes merge into one another. It was the custom of Sikyatki potters to give more attention to specific than generic characters of flying creatures, distinguishing different kinds of birds by the form of their feathers. The symbol of a turkey, an eagle, or a hawk feather was distinct from that of an owl, and each kind of a bird had its own special symbolic marking, especially indicated in the different kinds of feathers. Thus it occurs that Sikyatki bird designs, instead of being realistically represented, are often so highly conventionalized that the genus can not be identified.

Fig. 25.—Turtle.

The flight of birds, like the movement of serpents, is regarded as mysterious, and anything mysterious or uncanny has always profoundly affected the mind of primitive man. The chief visible characteristics connected with the flight of a bird are wings and feathers, and the kind of feathers of a particular bird led to their association with the supposed magic power of the bird itself among both the ancient and modern Hopi. Different kinds of feathers have different powers; thus the feathers of the turkey, for example, among the modern Hopi, are potent in inducing rain; those of the eagle or the hawk pertain especially to the power of the sun; a breast feather of an eagle is chosen as an individual prayer bearer. The feathers of an owl, like the owl itself,⁠[14] are generally regarded as having a sinister influence; but sometimes the feather of this bird is beneficial, it is believed, in making peach trees yield abundantly. From the variety of feather designs and the frequency with which they occur in modern Hopi ceremonies⁠[15] it is evident that the Sikyatki people, like their descendants, attributed special magic power to different kinds of these objects.

Fig. 26.—Clouds and tadpoles. Fig. 27.—Tadpoles.

In their simplest forms bird symbols are little more than triangles, the tail feathers being represented by appended parallel lines, which are mere suggestions of birds and may be designated as cursive forms. Such simple pictures of birds sometimes have, in addition to the appended parallel lines referred to, an angular or a curved line or hook extending from one of the angles of the triangle to represent a beak. Such triangular bird figures may be free or attached; in the latter case they are suspended from other figures or rise from the corners of a rectangular design when one of the triangles may be without tail or beak appendages, another may have parallel lines, while a third may take a form readily recognizable as that of a bird. The form of the beak and the claws of bird figures also varies, the claws often appearing as simple crosses or crescents. The beak is sometimes toothed, often hooked like that of a raptorial bird. The bird is designated by the combination of the beak, claws, and body, as well as the feathers.

DORSAL VIEWS OF BIRDS

Among the conventional pictures of birds on Sikyatki pottery some are shown as seen from above, or dorsally, others from below, or ventrally, and still others laterally. These pictures sometimes become so conventionalized that it is difficult to identify the parts represented, as will appear from illustrations to follow.

Fig. 28.—Dorsal view of a bird. Fig. 29.—Bird figure, two halves restored to natural position.

Figure 28 represents a bird design in which three parallel bands representing tail feathers of a well-marked type hang between two curved extensions that occupy the relative position of wings. In the angles near the attachment of these tail feathers there are two globular enlargements which occur also in other pictures. The extremity of each winglike crescent is spirally curved inward. Two semicircular figures representing rain clouds are surmounted by two parallel lines and a heavy, solid band, appearing at the proximal end of the tail in the position where the body should end, as in other figures where the rain-cloud symbols are much more complex.

The two drawings shown in figure 29 are the two halves of a single figure cut along its medial line. One of these halves is reversed in such a way that corresponding parts are found on the same side. Viewing these two parts in this position, we can readily identify various organs of a highly conventionalized bird whose wings are represented by a curved body terminating in a spiral, the body decorated with rain-cloud figures and the bowl with conventionalized figures. This is the only figure showing the distortions and reversions of the two halves of the bird’s body and appendages.

Homologous parts are recognizable also in the bird design shown in figure 30, but in this picture the size of the wings is greatly reduced, each consisting merely of two feathers. The rectangular body bears a single large terraced or rectangular rain-cloud symbol, three semicircular figures, and two triangles. Two tail feathers and two posterior extensions of the body, one on each side, are shown. There are three parallel lines on each side of these posterior extensions. In a bird design, figure 31, the body is decorated with four triangular rain clouds and the wings are extended. The tail has six feathers with a lateral extension on each side. The two detached figures associated with this bird design possibly were intended to represent the shrines of these birds.

Fig. 30.—Dorsal view of a bird. Fig. 31.—Bird figure.

The curved appendages are spreading in figure 32, and at their point of junction with the body arises a typical feather symbol. The body has four solid semicircular figures, possibly representing rain clouds, and a single feather on the top of the head. Organs corresponding to wings, body, and tail are traceable, but they are somewhat modified in comparison with the forms already considered. This design is partly surrounded by a band to which two star designs are attached.

We find all the parts or organs associated with the bird designs already described represented in figure 33, but the details of the symbolism are more elaborated than in any of the preceding. Here the wings are bent inward, while the feathers have taken more angular forms. The head is rectangular, bearing representations of two rain clouds just above the wings, while two others appear below. These have the same form as the cloud symbols shown in figure 20. Although this drawing is far from being a realistic representation of a bird, the presence of symbols characteristic of certain avian features leaves no doubt that a bird was intended.

In figure 34 is shown a Sikyatki bird figure still further conventionalized, but the parts are depicted in such manner as to make the identification as a bird practically certain. Head, body, wings, and tail are elaborately represented. The head is semicircular and surmounted by a headdress with three vertical feathers. The wings are large, each terminating in two symbols representing the feathers,⁠[16] with pointed distal extremities. The tail feathers have rounded extremities and are three in number. On each side of the feathers of the headdress, wings, and tail hang figures of unknown meaning. This is one of the most instructive bird figures in the collection from Sikyatki.

Fig. 32.—Bird figure. Fig. 33.—Bird figure.

Fig. 34.—Bird figure. Fig. 35.—Bird figure. (Thunderbird.)

Figure 35 represents a very elaborate figure of a bird, readily comparable with the last mentioned, from which it differs in certain particulars. This bird design is replete with symbolism and may be regarded as one of the most instructive pictures that has come to us from the ancient Hopi. The view is from the back, the legs being much reduced in size, the claws alone being represented at each upper corner of the body directly under the attachment of the wings. The beak is invisible, but an elaborate headdress,⁠[17] in which tail feathers are conspicuous, is a prominent feature. The form of the tail and wing feathers of this bird is practically the same as the last, except that they are more elaborately drawn. Each wing has two feathers, and three others form the tail. The arrow points projecting from beneath the extremities of the wing feathers are possibly lightning symbols. Each is crossed by two bars in the same manner as the tongue projecting from the mouth of the serpent shown in figure 23, which is also a lightning symbol.

Fig. 36.—Bird figure. Fig. 37.—Highly conventionalized figure of bird from dorsal side.

The design illustrated in figure 36 represents a bird, as seen from the back, with outstretched wings, recalling the lateral view of a bird shown in figure 54 in having smaller bird figures attached to the tips of the wings. The place of attachment of the wings to the body is embellished with crosshatched lines and stepped figures, recalling the rain-cloud symbols. The head is rectangular, destitute of a beak, inclosing two square figures with short parallel lines, representing falling rain, projecting from the upper side. On one side of the head is a semicircular design. The tail has three feathers, the two on the sides being broader than the one in the middle. These feathers are without markings, but the end of the body from which they depend is ornamented with stepped figures surmounted by two horizontal parallel lines and two triangles. In the background, at each side of the body, there are dotted circles, suggesting flowers, a feature often accompanying designs representing butterflies or moths.

In figure 37 is shown a highly conventionalized dorsal view of a bird, with sickle-formed wings slightly extended, seven pointed tail feathers with lateral appendages, and a rectangular head with three semicircular rain-cloud figures. The globular enlargement at the base of the wings in one instance is accompanied by a fan-shaped figure.

Fig. 38.—Conventional figure of a bird.

The design shown in figure 38 is regarded as a highly conventionalized bird symbol, each wing being represented by a curved pendant, to the extremities of which feathers are attached. The body is rectangular and decorated with a median horizontal white band continued above and below into black lateral triangles which possibly may represent feathers, and flanked triangular white areas on each side.

In figure 39 the design has been so greatly conventionalized that almost all resemblance to a bird has been lost. The wings are represented by simple terraces, the body by a rectangular figure, and the head terminates in three points. It is possible that the limit of bird conventionalization has been reached in this variant, and the difficulty of identification of organs is correspondingly great.

Fig. 39.—Conventional figure of a bird. Fig. 40.—Conventional figure of a bird. Fig. 41.—Conventional figure of a bird. Fig. 42.—Conventional figure of a bird.

The design shown in figure 40 would perhaps more logically fall within the series of circular figures, identified as sun emblems, elsewhere considered, except for the extensions representing wings and tail. This is mentioned as one of the instances where organs of birds are combined with a circle to represent the Sun god.

Figure 41 resembles figure 40 in some essential points and may also be considered in connection with sun emblems. On account of the presence of feathers it is here included among the bird designs.

Figure 42 exhibits an exceptional bird form as viewed from the rear.⁠[18] Wings, body, tail, and possibly the head, are recognized after some study.

LATERAL VIEWS OF BIRDS

Drawings representing side views of birds are usually highly conventionalized, often taking the forms of simple geometric figures, as shown in figures 43-45. The simplest representation of a bird viewed from the side is a triangle, but another, slightly elaborated and a little more complicated (fig. 43), consists of a triangular body with curved lines representing a head and beak, extending from one of the angles, and with two short lines indicating a feathered head crest. The head of the bird shown in figure 44 resembles a section of a Greek fret, which in figure 45 has become still further simplified. Figure 46 represents a bird with triangular body and key-shaped head. Figure 47 shows a similar design, except that the body is partly rectangular, with breast slightly concave. The body in figure 48 is simply an outline of a terrace and the tail is indicated by five parallel lines.

Fig. 43.—Triangular form of a bird. Fig. 44.—Triangular form of bird. Fig. 45.—Simple form of bird with terraced body. Fig. 46.—Lateral view of triangular bird with two tail feathers.

The bird design shown in profile in figure 49 is realistic, all the parts being clearly recognizable. This figure is one of four, each attached to a corner of a rectangle.

Another figure which may be a lateral view of a bird is represented in figure 50, in which the part, representing the head is curved, the body square, and two obliquely twisted feathers represent the tail. This figure exhibits avian features more obscurely than those already considered, but the head and the tail feathers are quite birdlike.

Fig. 47.—Lateral view of bird with three tail feathers. Fig. 48.—Problematical bird figure. Fig. 49.—Bird with two tail feathers. Fig. 50.—Highly conventionalized bird figure.

In figure 51 is shown a lateral view of a bird, seemingly in flight, the head and beak of which are birdlike. The wings, feet, head, and body are not difficult to recognize. Two legs and one wing are shown, and the well-drawn tail, terminating in white-tipped feathers, suggests the turkey, which bird is regarded by the modern Hopi as so efficacious in bringing rain that its feathers are employed in almost all rain ceremonies. The author has seen a similar drawing on altar and other ceremonial paraphernalia among the Hopi priests of the present day. The white tips which characterize the tail feathers of the turkey originated, according to a Hopi legend, at the time when this bird dragged the end of its tail in the mud after a flood had subsided.

Fig. 51.—Lateral view of bird.

The bird shown in figure 52 has a curved, elongated beak, a more or less angular body, two legs, and two small wings. The tail consists of three feathers⁠[19] with characteristic projections.

Fig. 52.—Profile of bird. Fig. 53.—Lateral view of bird with outspread wing.

One of the best bird pictures on Sikyatki pottery is shown in figure 53. The body is somewhat triangular in shape and the wing is spread out, here shown above the back; the tail is provided with three feathers placed vertically instead of horizontally, and bent over at their ends into triangles, evidently owing to the lack of available space. The beak is characteristically curved; the single eye is provided with a pupil. The long claws, single on each foot, suggest an eagle, hawk, or other raptorial bird. The spiral appendage to the under rim of the tail is of unknown meaning.

Fig. 54.—Lateral view of bird with twisted tail and wing feathers.

The design shown in figure 54 is one of the most complex bird drawings found on Sikyatki pottery. The head is triangular, with an eye situated in the center, and the beak continued into a very large, elaborate fret. The body is rhomboidal in shape, the upper portion being occupied by a patterned square. Rising above the body is a conventionalized wing, while depending from its lowermost angle is a diminutive figure resembling feathers. The tail consists of two elongate feathers, rounded at their outer ends and fused at the point of union with the body.

Having seen how prone the ancient Hopi were to represent birds on their pottery and the extent to which conventionalization of these figures prevailed, one finds many designs so closely related to known bird figures that the tendency is to include with them many the identification of which is doubtful. Certain simple geometrical forms originally derived from bird designs were copied by these early potters, presumably without intending to represent birds, but rather merely as decorative motives. Two of these problematic designs are shown in figures 55 and 56.

Fig. 55.—Lateral view of conventionalized bird. Fig. 56.—Lateral view of conventionalized bird.

FEATHER DESIGNS

A large number of conventional figures representing feathers have been identified, but there are many others which yet remain to be interpreted, and the particular genus of birds to which each should be referred is likewise problematical. There is no doubt, from a study of the uses of different kinds of feathers in modern Hopi ceremonials, that each form depicted on pottery represents a feather which played an important rôle in ancient Hopi rituals.

Many unquestionable feather designs pictured on Sikyatki pottery are found depicted on serpents, or are attached to inanimate objects, such as rainbows, clouds, and lightning.

It is probable that the majority of feather designs on ancient Hopi earthenware are included in the following types, to which no doubt other forms of feather designs will be added later. These types are abundant in vessels of the Sikyatki epoch.

Fig. 57.—Feather symbol with black notch.

From the above pictures of birds and many others it may be seen that feather symbols assume a variety of forms in sikyatki pottery decoration. There are probably more than 50 different designs, each representing a different kind of feather, and implying for each a distinct use or ceremonial efficacy, as among the modern Hopi. Our knowledge of ancient Hopi symbolism is not yet sufficient to enable us to identify all the different birds to which these various forms of feathers belong, nor do we know the uses to which all these feathers were put.⁠[20]⁠

Several wooden slabs and idols on Hopi altars have features drawn upon them, and many ceremonial sand-pictures contain designs representing feathers. In rare instances, as in the altar of the Powamû,⁠[21] typical Sikyatki symbols of feathers are still used, but feather symbols of a form not found on Sikyatki pottery far outnumber those from that ruin. The existence of one type of Sikyatki feathers on the figure of Pokema in kachina altars may point to the derivation of this feather symbol from Sikyatki, but some of these types are widespread.⁠[22]⁠

Fig. 58.—Feather symbol with black notch.

The forms assumed by feathers on Sikyatki pottery may best be presented by considering a few examples of the more common types. Figure 57 represents an unusual type of feather symbol, readily distinguished from others by the notch at the end, the edge of which is commonly rounded. There are two subdivisions of this type, one with a dotted shaft (fig. 58), the other plain. This form of feather design is found in most unexpected associations, occurring on the heads of serpents or attached to various parts of the body and under the wings of birds. It also hangs from diametrical bands drawn across the inside of food bowls and from other objects constituting the decoration of vessels. In a few instances this type of feather is enlarged and constitutes the essential part of the design, with other symbols attached.

This type of feather sometimes forms a part of a bird’s tail, but it does not occur in the wings, although, as above stated, it occurs under a wing or on the body or the head of a bird, a localization that leads to the belief that the device was designed to represent a breast feather, such as the Hopi now use in their prayers. In ancient Hopi symbolism it is often attached to circles representing the sun and represents a tail feather.

In plate 76, a, three feathers are represented with pointed tips and without interior markings. It is one of the simplest drawings of the type mentioned.

This figure illustrates a well-known type of feather symbol. It has many variations, all clearly differentiated from the form last described, from which it differs in its elongate form and pointed tip. What may be regarded as a subtype of this is marked with diagonal bands drawn either at right angles at one edge or extending across the figure and terminating at right angles to the opposite edge. Feather symbols of this type, which have not been identified with any particular bird, are constantly found in birds’ tails and wings.

The next design (pl. 76, b) is similar in outline, but the three feathers are painted solid black and are separated by spaces. This conventional form of feather is common on wings and tails of birds.

The group of symbols shown in plate 76, c, has pointed tips, like the others described, but part of the shaft is painted, while the other is plain, the line of demarcation between which is drawn diagonally. This form occurs on the tails rather than on the wings of birds.

The tips of the feathers in plate 76, d, are connected by a black band and are divided by short vertical lines. A distinguishing feature of this symbol is the oblique marking of each feather on the right side, by which the feathers are narrowed at the base. A solid semicircular figure with a double notch ornaments the upper edge. The few known examples of this type of feather symbol are from the tails of unknown birds.

The next form of feather, shown in e, differs from the last in that the shaft is spotted and the proximal end is cut diagonally in a somewhat different way.⁠[23] The tips are slit as in the figure last described.

The width of the feathers shown in f is uniform throughout. The distal ends are tipped with black; the proximal ends are each ornamented with a black triangle. Midway of the length of the feathers are four continuous parallel horizontal lines.

The two feathers shown in g have in one instance a black and in the other a white tip separated from the rest of the shaft by an oblique line. The essential difference between this form of pointed feather and those previously considered is that the diagonal line marking the tip is drawn at a greater angle.

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY THIRTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT PLATE 76

VARIOUS FORMS OF CONVENTIONALIZED FEATHERS

The six feathers shown in h resemble the last, but the terminal portions of three are spotted instead of solid black. Like some of the others described, this form tapers slightly from its distal end to its base.

In i the feathers are likewise pointed at their tips, but are of almost uniform breadth. Each is intersected by a series of triangles and parallel lines, and suspended from the latter, one in each feather, are several vertical lines, each with terminal dots.

The symbol shown in j is not unlike that already illustrated, but it has in addition to the structure enumerated a lateral hornlike appendage common in the tails of birds (see pl. 90, i, tf).

The form of feather design shown in k is somewhat different from those already considered. The distal end is broad and pointed; the proximal narrows almost to a point. The left half of the body of the feather is black; the remainder, including the point, is plain. The design l has the same general form as k, but its tip is marked in a different manner.

The double-pointed symbol represented in m was evidently designed as a feather (possibly two feathers), with parallel sides, and pointed tips painted black. The symbol n is similar to d in outline, but it lacks the terminal slit and black bands. There project, however, from the angles formed by the tips of the feathers three vertical lines, each with an arrow point at the extremity and two short crosslines, as in one of the bird designs previously described (fig. 35). The present design represents wing feathers; the complete bird figure (fig. 35), where they also occur, represents a thunderbird.

The three tail feathers shown in o are in no respect peculiar. The two-pointed appendages seen above are an almost constant feature of the drawings of birds as seen from the back. The feathers represented in p are unlike others in their mode of attachment and in the ornamentation at the base.

Thus far we have considered a type of feathers with pointed tips (pl. 76, a-p) imparting to the whole tail a serrate appearance. While in the next figure, q, the tail feathers still terminate in points, a black band connecting their extremities is prolonged at each side, recalling the tail of certain swallows.

Feathers are often represented on Sikyatki pottery as elsewhere in the Southwest by parallel straight lines. The feathers represented in r are exceptional in that their length varies considerably, the median feather here being the longest.

While undoubtedly the series of designs shown in s to bb, inclusive, in each instance representing the feathers in the tail of a bird, are all highly conventionalized, in one or two instances, as u and bb, the relation to feathers can be recognized only by comparative studies.

The design illustrated in cc, taken from the neck of a vase, represents several peculiar feathers of a type not yet described but highly characteristic. Comparison of this with that of dd shows the similarity of the two and suggests that they pertain to the same kind of bird. The tails represented in v, aa, and bb are characteristic; the last represents tail feathers hanging from the band later described.

The series of feathers (possibly tail feathers) shown in several figures have rounded tips, and as a rule are of uniform size and without ornamentation. In plate 77, a, the three feathers composing the tail are painted black and are slightly separated, while those of b are half black and half plain, the solid area being separated from the plain by a diagonal line extending from the proximal to the distal extremity.

The four feathers in c are separated by slight intervals and lightly shaded; otherwise they are similar to those in a. The two outside feathers of d are much broader than the middle feather, which is reduced to a narrow line. In e the three feathers are broader at the tips, in which respect they differ from c.

In the tail shown in f, the feathers are indicated by shallow notches from which short parallel lines extend inward. They are without superficial markings. Figure g belongs to the notched type represented above.

The four feather symbols shown in the drawing of the bird’s tail illustrated in h differ from all others in the shape of their distal ends, which are alternately black and plain, and are without superficial ornamentation. Evidently this feather design, which is represented on a single vessel from Sikyatki, is of a distinct type.

There is some doubt whether i represents a bird’s tail, the head and body from which the design was taken being more like those of a moth or a butterfly. The meaning of the design in j is also doubtful. Figure k represents a single “breath” feather like that shown in figure 57.

There is a general resemblance between the tail feathers of the bird designed in e and l; the latter represents the tail of a bird, hanging between two triangles under a star design.

Figure m represents a bird’s tail with three tail feathers and lateral extensions, while in n, where we also have a figure of the tail of a bird, each feather is marked by a rectangular pattern. The four pairs of parallel lines extending from these feathers may be regarded as parts of these structures.

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY THIRTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT PLATE 77

CONVENTIONALIZED TAIL FEATHERS

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY THIRTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT PLATE 78

CONVENTIONALIZED FEATHERS ATTACHED TO STRINGS (NAKWAKWOCI)

Figures o to q, while suggesting bird and feather designs, are still more or less problematical. In the same category belong the designs illustrated in figures r to u. There is reason to believe that of these o-r represent feathers, but a definite identification can not yet be made of figures s-u.

Fig. 59.—Feathers.

Two triangular designs, one above another, are believed to represent feathers, but are rarely found on ancient Hopi pottery. They appear on the heads of birds in Acoma, Laguna, and other pottery designs, which are the nearest modern representatives of ancient Hopi decorations.

A unique feather symbol from Sikyatki is characterized by a cigar-shaped body outlined at the distal end, which is plain (fig. 59).

Fig. 60.—Curved feathers.

There often occurs on Sikyatki pottery a combination of feather designs, generally three, with other symbols. One form of these (fig. 60) has four curved tail feathers. Other feathers of aberrant shape are shown in figure 61, a-e.

Feathers Suspended from Strings

In their ceremonies the modern Hopi priests use in great numbers a kind of prayer offering called nakwakwoci, consisting of breast feathers tied in a prescribed way to the ends of strings. The same type of prayer offerings is one of the most common designs on Sikyatki pottery. Various modifications of it are shown in the accompanying illustration (fig. 62).

Fig. 61.—Conventional feathers.

This use of the feather string as a decorative device is seemingly peculiar to prehistoric Hopi pottery, not having been found in the pictography of the people formerly inhabiting the valleys of San Juan and Little Colorado Rivers. This restriction in its use indicates its local origin and application, although descendants of clans from both the San Juan and the Little Colorado are represented among the Hopi.

Fig. 62.—Parallel lines representing feathers.

In one of the simplest forms of the stringed-feather designs is a line (pl. 78, b, c, d) sometimes taking the form of an elongate triangle, terminating in a ball from which spring three or more diverging or parallel lines. This enlargement on stringed-feather designs may represent a knot, as will appear from certain variations in the form of the feathered string to which attention will be given later.

In some cases (e, l) two knots appear between the string and the attached feathers, while in another instance (f) one of the knots or balls is replaced by two triangles.

Other representations of stringed-feather or nakwakwoci designs show modifications in each of the three elements mentioned, the line (string), the enlargement (knot), and the terminal projections (feathers). The occurrence of crossbars near the dot (g, h, i) vary in number from one to four, and are always parallel, but usually are placed on one side of the knot, although in some cases (i) they appear on both sides. In one example (j) no ball or knot is provided, the nakwakwoci consisting merely of the string intersected by pairs of equidistant crosslines. A special modification of the dot with crosslines is shown in the figure with the leaflike attachment (q).

One of the most significant of the stringed-feather designs is shown in a, where a feather of the first type is attached to the string intersected by crosslines. As a terminal element in corresponding designs is a typical feather symbol, this figure is also identical. The figure of a string with enlargements and a pair of lines (g) probably represents that form of stringed feather called by the Hopi a purhu, “road,” an offering laid by the Hopi on the trails approaching the pueblo to indicate that ceremonies are being performed, or on altars to show the pathway of blessings.

In another stringed-feather design (n) appears a triangular symbol attached to the enlargement, the string terminating in radiating lines. The feather sometimes preserves its triangular form (m). These variations in the drawings of stringed feathers and the modifications of the knot, string, and terminal attachments, are constantly repeated in Sikyatki pottery decoration.

Sky-Band

Many food bowls from Sikyatki have a band from which is suspended the figure of a nondescript animal passing diametrically across it. Representations of a similar band with like appendage girt the necks of small pottery objects and are, so far as is known, characteristic of prehistoric Hopi pottery.

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY THIRTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT PLATE 79

SKY-BANDS

Lines identified as sky-bands shown in plate 79 vary from single (a) or double (b) to a broad undecorated band (c). In its simplest form the sky-band extends entirely across the inside of the bowl, but in the more complicated examples it surrounds the vessel parallel with the rim surrounding the design on the inside of the bowl. Appendages of several kinds as dots (d) or as stars (f), made up of oblong figures in terrace form placed at intervals, are attached to this band. The sky-band itself varies in width, being broad or narrow, crossed by series of vertical parallel, zigzag, or other lines arranged at intervals, or alternating with geometrical figures (g, h). In a single example (i) the decoration is etched into the burnt clay, although in most instances the decorations are painted.

Various explanations of the meaning of this band have been suggested, it being regarded by some of the priests as the Milky Way, by others as the path of the sun through the sky, but so far as known this ancient design is rare on modern Hopi ware.⁠[24] According to Harrington the Tewa recognize a “backbone” of the sky.

In several Hopi legends there are allusions to a monster bird that had been killed and hung in the sky by a cultus hero; and the general character of this decorative band in Sikyatki pottery decoration renders it probable that it was intended to represent some supernatural being, as the Sky god.

The chief interest of the Sikyatki sky-band lies in the figure or figures attached to it, or suspended from it, and regarded as the conventionalized representation of a bird. Sometimes the creature is placed longitudinally, sometimes vertically. In some instances it is elaborately drawn, in others it is a simple geometric figure bearing so little resemblance to a life form as to make it one of the most highly conventionalized of all ancient Hopi designs.

Like other bird designs, these suspended figures may be considered under two heads: (1) Those attached to the band in such a way as to be seen from above (the dorsal side) or from below (the ventral side); and (2) those suspended lengthwise of the band, showing one side in which the tail and other parts are twisted into a plane at right angles. The structure and relations of the hanging figure can best be seen by holding the bowl in such manner that the sky-band is horizontal, bringing the body of the suspended animal into the lower semicircle.

VERTICAL ATTACHMENT TO SKY-BAND

Several Sikyatki pottery designs showing the sky-band with the bird figure hanging vertically from it are shown in the accompanying illustrations. In order that the modifications in form may be readily followed, those parts of the bird figures regarded as homologous are indicated by the same letters.

The design in figure 63 represents one of the simplest forms of bird symbols. A hornlike appendage is attached to the sky-band, on each side of an elongate vertical body from which depends a number of parallel lines representing tail feathers. The identification of this design as that of a bird is based on comparative studies of designs less conventional in character, to which attention has been and will later be called.

Fig. 63.—Conventionalized bird form hanging from sky-band; top view. Fig. 64.—Conventionalized bird form hanging from sky-band; top view.

Fig. 65.—Conventionalized bird form hanging from sky-band; top view. Fig. 66.—Conventionalized bird form hanging from sky-band; top view.

A modification of the pendent body on the sky-band⁠[25] appears to have introduced the new element shown in figure 64 in which the body is drawn. Although considerable variation exists in the form of the other parts, a morphological identity exists in all these figures. In figure 65, in which the feathers differ somewhat from those of the last design, the parallel lines representing the bird’s tail are really seen. The design shown in figure 66 is still more elaborate than the last, especially in the anterior semicircle,⁠[26] opposite that in which the tail feathers are depicted.

Fig. 67.—Conventionalized bird form hanging from sky-band; top view. Fig. 68.—Conventionalized bird form hanging from sky-band; top view.

The portion of the design situated in the anterior semicircle of figure 67 has no resemblance to a bird’s head, being destitute of eyes or beak. The backward extending appendages on each side of the tail and the tail itself has a projection on each side.

In figure 68 the whole anterior part of the design above the sky-band is colored, the head appearing as a still darker semicircle. The tail feathers are here reduced to simple parallel lines. The general form of figure 69 is birdlike, but its affinity to the bird figures, pendent from a sky-band, is closer than to any others. The homologous parts—tail feathers, lateral body extensions, sky-band, and head—may be readily recognized; the last mentioned is an ornamented rectangle. The whole anterior hemisphere of this design is occupied by representations of feathers arranged in two clusters, while in the surrounding area their triple lines are crossed similarly to that occurring in other hanging bird figures. It is but a step from this figure to the group of unattached bird designs already considered.

Fig. 69.—Conventionalized bird form hanging from sky-band; top view. Fig. 70.—Conventionalized bird form hanging from sky-band; top view.

The wings of figure 70 are outspread and the head consists of two terraced bodies conventionally placed. The body and the tail of this figure are not exceptional, but dragon flies are also represented.

Figure 71 presents a conventionalized bird seen in profile, and a broad sky-band to which are attached representations of feathers and other organs suggesting a bird.

An animal depicted in figure 72 is one of three similar figures from the neck of the same vase, which are connected by a line or band. The design shown in figure 73 represents a highly conventionalized bird hanging from the sky-band with head and wings on one side and tail feathers below.

BIRDS ATTACHED LONGITUDINALLY TO SKY-BAND

The designs shown in figure 74 represent the simplest forms of birds attached lengthwise to the sky-band. The parallel lines on the left hand of the observer are supposed to represent tail feathers and the curve on the right, the heads, or possibly the wings.

Fig. 71.—Conventionalized bird form hanging from sky-band; top view. Fig. 72.—Conventionalized bird form hanging from sky-band; top view.

One of the best designs representing a bird attached to a sky-band is shown in figure 75, taken from a bowl in the Wattron collection now owned by the Field Columbian Museum, of Chicago. The interior surface of this bowl is considerably worn by use, and the figure a little indistinct, but the extremities of a band appear. There is a fairly realistic figure on each side of a bird with head and wings above and tail below a diametrical band. There are zigzag markings, supposed to represent lightning, on the under side of the wing. The tail is spread out amply enough to show the different feathers which compose it; and at the bases or on its under side corresponding in position with like symbols on the wing there appear two zigzag figures. The significance of two curved bodies hanging from the sky-band, one on each side of the tail of this figure, can not be satisfactorily interpreted, but the bird design shown in figure 76 has four tail feathers, a prolongation on the opposite side representing a head, and a curved extension comparable with a wing in other figures. The so-called wing terminates in a triangular feather.

Fig. 73.—Conventionalized bird form hanging from sky-band; top view. Fig. 74.—Lateral view of bird hanging from sky-band.

The two designs, figures 76 and 77, have parts which evidently correspond, the latter being one of the most beautiful in the collection. Both represent from the side an unknown bird hanging from a band extending across the middle of the bowls. Although the details of organs are more carefully depicted in the latter, there can hardly be a doubt that similar animals were intended in both designs.

It requires some imagination to discover a conventionalized bird in figure 78, but we may regard it as such. We have in this figure a good example of a change in outline that may be produced by duplication or by representing both sides of the body or its organs and appendages in the same place. Three tail feathers are here apparent; the body is square, with zigzag white lines, and the head, here twisted into a vertical position, has a triangular form. The two crescentic appendages, one on the right side, the other on the left, represent halves of wings which are theoretically supposed to have been slit longitudinally and folded backward⁠[27] in order that both sides may be shown on the same plane; the two bodies arising from the concave edges of these crescents—one to the left, the other to the right of the square body—represent legs. Their unusual form is brought about by a twisting of body and tail, by which feathers of the latter are brought to longitudinal position, and one of the legs is twisted to the right side and the other to the left. If the two appendages supposed to represent the legs or the two parts shaped like crescentlike knives were brought together, the two crescents would likewise merge into one, and we would then have a highly conventionalized bird with three tail feathers and a triangular head, the body being represented by a square design crossed diagonally by zigzag figures each in its own rectangular inclosed field.

Fig. 75.—Lateral view of bird hanging from sky-band. Fig. 76.—Lateral view of bird with extended wing.

Decorations on Exteriors of Food Bowls

The exterior surface of almost every bowl from Sikyatki is decorated with lines or geometrical designs. Many of these designs may represent animals, probably birds highly conventionalized or so aberrant that the avian form can be recognized only by comparative or morphological studies. They are confined to one side of the bowl; there appears to be little resemblance and no connection between them and the figure depicted on the inside of the same bowls. Although linear in form, one end is sometimes so crooked or bent at an angle, not curved, as to form a head, while the other bears parallel lines, representations of the tail feathers, terraces, or triangles.

Fig. 77.—Lateral view of bird hanging from sky-band. Fig. 78.—Lateral view of bird hanging from sky-band.

In plate 80, a, we have a characteristic example of one of these exterior decorations. The crooked end is supposed to represent a bird’s head; to the other end, or tail, are appended six feathers like those already considered. A row of five stars is strung along the band. A likeness to a bird is very obscure in b, while c shows several simple triangles with stepped figures in the middle and triangles at the ends. Design d has a square form and two triangles appended to each opposite angle. The appendages on the remaining opposite angles have four parallel lines. Design e consists of two highly conventionalized bird symbols, united to a third which forms the interior design.

The design f recalls the sky-band described in the preceding pages. The extremities of this so-called band are enlarged into round spots from which arise parallel lines and triangular designs. From it hang terraced and crooked figures, while strung along one side at equal intervals are five stars, a common accompaniment of sky symbols. The bird symbol comes out clearly in g, where the crook design with terraces is repeated.

All crooked figures have a similarity in general form, some more closely resembling birds than others, and it is taken for granted that the intention of the artist was to represent a bird in plate 81, a, notwithstanding the avian form is highly conventionalized. Design b is composite, consisting of a rectangular figure, to the angles of which are attached feathers. Terraced and triangular figures of unknown significance, stars, and other designs cover the rectangle. Design c is made up of a triangle with notched borders and a central rectangle with a dot characterizes this design; it has also two triangular extensions that may represent feathers. Design d resembles previous figures identified as feathers and terraces hanging from a sky-band.

The most prominent part of the design e is a crook and parallel lines. In f are variously combined triangles with appended feathers, crooks, and terraced designs, so united as to make up a compound decoration of geometric character.

The geometrical designs in the series, plate 82, a-f, may be interpreted as representing birds in flight or with extended wings. Considered in this way, it appears that we have in the figure on each side a highly conventionalized wing forming triangles with extensions at one angle, ending in terraces, crooks, or other designs. In these figures we constantly have a line that may be likened to the sky-band, each end generally terminating in a dot to which parallel lines are attached.

Design a has two triangular bodies resembling the letter W, and the line terminating in two dots has two crossbars, while in b there is a union of designs. Elongated triangles terminate in lines which are enlarged into dots. These triangles are modified on one side into crooks with smaller triangles.

From remote resemblances rather than similarity of form, c is placed near the preceding. Here a band is enlarged at the end representing the knots with attached parallel lines or feathers. The triangular pendants of b and the line with terminal dots of a are here represented. On the middle vertical of this figure is a trapezoidal design with notched edges.

The elements of d form a compound in which triangles predominate. Two W-shaped designs, e and f, have a form quite unlike a, b, c, and d. Of these, f is the more complicated, but the similarity of the two is apparent.

Plate 83, a, represents two triangles with serrate margins hanging to a horizontal band, one end of which terminates in dots and lines, the other with two parallel notched feathers.

Plate 84, a-c, have the W shape shown in plate 82, e, f; the approach to the conventional bird form with extended wings and tail being most marked in a. Design d on plate 84 recalls plate 83, f, with modifications that are apparent.

The above-mentioned geometrical figures from the exteriors of Sikyatki food bowls show considerable variety of form but all can be reduced to a few elemental designs throughout in which the curved line is absent. The rectangular design is always dominant, but it will be seen from the following plate that it is not omnipresent, especially on the interiors of bowls.