yatki, one of the best of which is the food bowl illustrated in
plate CXXXIII, _a_. The design represents a number of these aquatic
animals drawn in line across the diameter of the inner surface of the
bowl, while on each side there is a row of rectangular blocks
representing rain clouds. These blocks are separated from the tadpole
figures by crescentic lines, and above them are short parallel lines
recalling the symbol of falling rain.

One of the most beautiful forms of ladles from Sikyatki is figured in
plate CXXXIII, _b_, a specimen in which the art of decoration by
spattering is effectively displayed. The interior of the bowl of this
dipper is divided by parallel lines into two zones, in each of which
two tadpoles are represented. The handle is pointed at the end and is
decorated. This specimen is considered one of the best from Sikyatki.

The rudely drawn picture on the bowl figured in plate CXXXII, _f_,
would be identified as a frog, save for the presence of a tail which
would seem to refer it to the lizard kind. But in the evolution of the
tadpole into the frog a tailed stage persists in the metamorphosis
after the legs develop. In modern pictures[138] of the frog with which
I am familiar, this batrachian is always represented dorsally or
ventrally with the legs outstretched, while in the lizards, as we have
seen, a lateral view is always adopted. As the sole picture found on
ancient pottery where the former method is employed, this fact may be
of value in the identification of this rude outline as a frog rather
than as a true reptile.

BUTTERFLIES OR MOTHS

One of the most characteristic modern decorations employed by the
Hopi, especially as a symbol of fecundity, is the butterfly or moth.
It is a constant device on the beautiful white or cotton blankets
woven by the men as wedding gifts, where it is embroidered on the
margin in the forms of triangles or even in more realistic patterns.
This symbol is a simple triangle, which becomes quite realistic when a
line is drawn bisecting one of the angles. This double triangle is not
only a constant symbol on wedding blankets, but also is found on the
dadoes of houses, resembling in design the arrangement of tiles in the
Alhambra and other Moorish buildings. This custom of decorating the
walls of a building with triangles placed at intervals on the upper
edge of a dado is a feature of cliff-house kivas, as shown in
Nordenskioeld's beautiful memoir on the cliff vi