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POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



differentl}', even among the same tribe, according to the preponderance 

 of the decorative or descriptive value of the design. 



On the other hand, the general prevalence of symbolic significance 

 in ordinary decoration shows that this is an important aspect of 

 decorative art, and a tendencv to retain the realistic form might l^e 



expected, provided its origin were 

 from realistic forms. If, therefore, 

 the whole decorative art of some 

 tribes shows no trace of realism, 

 it may well be doubted whether 

 their ordinary decorative designs 

 were originally realistic. 



The history of decorative design 

 can best be investigated by analy- 

 zing the styles of form and inter- 

 pretation prevailing over a limited 

 area. If the style of art were en- 

 tirely indigenous in a given tribe, 

 and developed either from conven- 

 tionalization of realistic designs or 

 from the elaboration of technical 

 motives, we should expect to find a 

 different style and different motives 

 in each tribe. The general customs 

 and beliefs might be expected to 

 determine the subjects chosen for 

 decoration, or the ideas that 

 are read into the technical de- 

 signs. 



As a matter of fact, the native 

 art of North America shows a very 

 different state of affairs. All over 

 the Great Plains and in a large 

 portion of the western plateaus an art is found which, notwithstanding 

 local peculiarities, is of a uniform type. It is characterized by the 

 application of colored triangles and quadrangles in both painting and 

 embroidery in a manner which is found in no other part of the world. 

 The slight diiferences of styles which occur are well exemplified in 

 the style of painted rawhide l)ags or envelopes, the so-called ' par- 

 fleches.' Mr. St. Clair has observed that the Arapaho are in the 

 habit of laying on the colors rather delicately, in areas of moderate 

 size, and of following out a general arrangement of their motives 

 in stripes; that the Shoshone, on the other hand, like large areas of 



Fig. 3a. Ordinary Coat of the Gold 

 OF THE Amur River. (After Dr. Berthold 

 Laufer.) 



