f the food bowls,
jars, and other ceramic objects, it will be noticed that they are not
continuous, but that there is a break at one point, and this break is
usually limited to one point in all the specimens. Various
explanations of the meaning of this failure to complete the band have
been suggested, and it is a remarkable fact that it is one of the most
widely extended characteristics of ancient pottery decoration in the
whole Pueblo area, including the Salado and Gila basins. While in the
specimens from Sikyatki the break is simple and confined to one point,
in those from other regions we find two or three similar failures in
the continuity of encircling lines, and in some instances the lines at
the point of separation are modified into spirals, terraces, and other
forms of geometric figures. In the more complex figures we find the
most intricate variations, which depart so widely from the simple
forms that their resemblances are somewhat difficult to follow. A
brief consideration of these modifications may aid toward an
understanding of the character of certain geometric ornamental
motives.

[Illustration: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CLIX

CROSS AND RELATED DESIGNS FROM SIKYATKI]

[Illustration: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CLX

CROSS AND OTHER SYMBOLS FROM SIKYATKI]

[Illustration: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CLXI

STAR, SUN, AND RELATED SYMBOLS FROM SIKYATKI]

If any of the interlocking spirals on bowls or vases are traced, it is
found that they do not join at the center of the figure. The same is
true when these spirals become frets. There is always a break in the
network which they form. This break is comparable with the hiatus on
encircling bands and probably admits of the same interpretation. In a
simple form this motive appears as two crescents or two key patterns
with the ends overlapping. This simple ornament, called the friendship
sign, is commonly used in the decoration of the bodies of _katcinas_,
and has been likened to the interlocking of fingers or hands of the
participants in certain dances, the fingers half retracted with inner
surfaces approximated, the palms of the hands facing in opposite
directions and the wrists at opposite points. If the points be
extended into an elaborate key pattern or curved into extended
spirals, a complicated figure is produced in which the separation is
less cons