o the design have resulted in many distorted and
conventionalized figures which can only be explained by the artist. The
accompanying drawings are taken from articles collected by the writer
and now in the Field Museum of Natural History.

Patterns _A_ to _H_ in Fig. 54 appear in hemp cloth skirts. These show
the steps in the conventionalization of the human figure,[139] as
explained by the weavers. In the first four the forms are so realistic
that they need no explanation, but _E_ is more complicated. Here two
greatly conventionalized figures have been used, one erect, the other
with head down. The size of the head has been increased while the body
is represented by a small diamond-shaped pattern with outstretched arms
attached. The legs and feet of both figures help to form a pattern
similar to a head, except that it lacks the "hair" shown in the end
designs. _F_ resembles the preceding quite closely. In it the central
head-like pattern does not appear and the legs and feet of one figure
help to form the head of the other. This design has been doubled, thus
necessitating some alteration of the figures at the points of union. In
_G_ and _H_ nearly all the realistic elements have vanished, yet certain
resemblance to _D_ and _E_ can be discerned.

[139] One weaver insisted that this figure represents a frog, because of
its webbed feet, but none of the others agreed with her.

FIG. 54A TO H. DESIGNS REPRESENTING THE HUMAN FORM.

We have already learned that the crocodile is held in great regard and
in some sections there is evidence of its more or less sacred character.
Its importance in the minds of the people is well shown by the frequency
with which it appears in their decorative designs. Fig. 55_A_ shows one
of these animals which has just eaten a man. Both figures are so
realistic that the intention of the weaver is apparent. In _B_, _D_,
_E_, and _F_, the animal is still realistic, but the man disappears, and
in his place is a formless object or straight lines which are identified
as "something eaten."

FIG. 55A TO H. CROCODILE DESIGNS.

The pattern _G_ is given as the next step in the conventionalization.
Here the legs, feet, and "something eaten" have assumed undue
proportions, while nearly every trace of likeness has vanished. This
figure is multiplied five times to obtain the highly conventionalized
form shown in _H_.

By referring to _G_ it is possible to see how the complicated designs in
_I_ and _J_ h