FEWKES] REPTILIAN FIGURES ON POTTERY 677 
upon it portions of the body and the whole head and neck of a rep- 
tilian animal. We find on that part of the body which is represented, 
three parallel marks which recall those on the modern pictures of the 
Great Plumed Serpent. On the back there were apparently the repre- 
sentations of wings, a feather of which is shown above the head. The 
head likewise bears a crest of three feathers, and there are three rep- 
tilian-like toes, Whether this represents a reptile or a bird it is impos- 
sible for me to say, but enough has already been recorded to indicate 
how close the symbolism of these two groups sometimes is in ancient 
pictography. It would almost appear as if the profound anatomical 
discovery of the close kinship of birds and reptiles was unconsciously 
recognized by a people destitute of the rudiments of the knowledge of 
morphology. 
TADPOLES 
Among the inhabitants of an arid region, where rain-making forms a 
dominant element in their ritual, water animals are eagerly adopted as 
symbols. Among these the tadpole occupies a foremost position. The 
figures of this batrachian are very simple, and are among the most 
common of those used on ceremonial paraphernalia in Tusayan at the 
present time. In none of these is anything more than a globular head 
and a zigzag tail represented, and, as in nature, these are colored black. 
The tadpole appears on several pieces of painted pottery from Sikyatki, 
one of the best of which is the food bow] illustrated in plate CXXXIII, a. 
The design represents a number of these aquatic animals drawn in line 
across the diameter of the inner surface of the bowl, while on each side 
there is a row of rectangular blocks representing rain clouds. These 
blocks are separated trom the tadpole figures by crescentie lines, and 
above them are short parallel lines recalling the symbol of falling rain. 
One of the most beautiful forms of ladles from Sikyatki is figured in 
plate CxXxx1, b, a specimen in which the art of decoration by spatter- 
ing is effectively displayed. The interior of the bowl of this dipper is 
divided by parallel lines into two zones, in each of which two tadpoles 
are represented. The handle is pointed at the end and is decorated, 
This specimen is considered one of the best from Sikyatki. 
The rudely drawn picture on the bowl figured in plate cxxxu, /, 
would be identified as a frog, save for the presence of a tail which 
would seem to refer it to the lizard kind. But in the evolution of the 
tadpole into the frog a tailed stage persists in the metamorphosis 
after the legs develop. In modern pictures! of the frog with which 
I am familiar, this batrachian is always represented dorsally or ven- 
trally with the legs outstretched, while in the lizards, as we have seen, 
a lateral view is always adopted. As the sole picture found on ancient 
‘Figures of the tadpole and frog are often found on modern medicine bow Is in Tusayan. The 
snake, so common on Zuni ceremonial pottery, has not been seen by me on a single object of earthen- 
ware in use in modern Hopi ritual. 
