that the
corn plant or fruit would be found among other designs, especially as
corn plays a highly symbolic part in mythic conceptions, but we fail
to find it used as a decoration on any ancient vessel.

[Illustration: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CLII

FOOD BOWLS WITH BIRD, FEATHER, AND FLOWER SYMBOLS FROM SIKYATKI]

[Illustration: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CLIII

FOOD BOWLS WITH FIGURES OF BIRDS AND FEATHERS FROM SIKYATKI]

In a figure previously described, a flower, evidently an aster or
sunflower, appears with a butterfly, and in the bowl shown in
plate CXXXIV, _e_, we have a similar design. This figure
evidently represents the sunflower, the seeds of which were ground and
eaten in ancient times. The plant apparently is represented as growing
from the earth and is surrounded by a broad band of red in rudely
circular form. The totem of the earth today among the Hopi is a
circle; possibly it was the same among the ancients, in which case the
horizon may have been represented by the red encircling band, which is
accompanied by the crook and the emblem of rain. The petals are
represented by a row of dots and no leaves are shown. From the kinship
of the ancient accolents of Sikyatki with the Flute people, it is to
be expected that in their designs figures of asters or sunflowers
would appear, for these plants play a not inconspicuous role in the
ritual of this society which has survived to modern times.

THE SUN

Sun worship plays a most important part in modern Tusayan ritual, and
the symbol of the sun in modern pictography can not be mistaken for
any other. It is a circle with radiating feathers on the periphery and
ordinarily with four lines arranged in quaternary groups. The face of
the sun is indicated by triangles on the forehead, two slits for eyes,
and a double triangle for the mouth. This symbol, however, is not
always used as that of the sun, for in the Oraibi _Powalawu_ there is
an altar in which a sand picture of the sun has the form of a
four-pointed star. The former of these sun symbols is not found on
Sikyatki pottery, but there is one picture which closely resembles the
latter. This occurs on the bowl illustrated in plate CLXI, _c_. The
main design is a four-pointed star, alternating with crosses and
surrounded by a zone in which are rectangular blocks. While the
identification may be fanciful, its resemblances are highly
sugg