FEWKES] MINOR ANTIQUITIES 139, 
which were once inhabited by clans from the northern tributaries of 
the Gila and the Salt, but is found only sparingly in the northern 
Arizona ruins and those of New Mexico and Colorado. Among the 
Hopi ruins no example of this ornament was found at Sikyatki and 
but one or two at Awatobi.! 
The triangle design above described is not commonly found on 
the Mesa Verde pottery and is rare in the Rio Grande region. In 
the opinion of the writer this may be safely regarded as one of the 
symbols (figs. 45, 46, 47) of prehistoric pottery derived from southern 
Arizona; it has been identified as head feathers of the quail, and is 
found not only on pottery but also on other objects. The outside wall 
Fic. 45. Earthenware bowl decorated with triangle pattern. 
of the sarcophagus discovered in Clan-house 1 is decorated with a series 
of these triangles having quail-feather decorations in red pigment. 
The use of the swastika? in the decoration of prehistoric pottery 
is so rare that mention of a single specimen from Casa Grande is 
1 Sikyatki pottery shows no signs of Little Colorado influence, a fact which is in harmony with tribal 
legends, but former contact with culture of the south is evident in Awatobi ceramics, as would beexpected. 
The Piba (Tobacco) clan, that once lived at Chevlon ruin, may have brought from the Little Colorado the 
triangle design above described. In the Keam collection there are one or two pieces of pottery with this 
decoration, but their provenance is indefinite—either Canyon de Chelly or Tusayan, two distinct ceramic 
areas. 
2 This design, now so freely used in the decoration of Navaho blankets, silverware, and other objects, 
has been found on pottery from ruins on the Little Colorado, and variant forms occur at Sikyatki, but it 
seldom appears on cliff-house pottery. The old Hopi priests do not give a cosmic interpretation to the 
swastika, nor do they identify it as a “good luck’? symbol. Some of the Pima suggest that it represents 
the four claws of the eagle. 
~ 
