380 COILED BASKETRY IN BRITISH COLUMBIA [ETH. ANN. 41 
snake. The former is always characterized by broad black and white 
bands or checks encircling the body, the latter by lengthwise stripes. 
The rattlesnake is elaborately marked but the difference between it 
and the bull snake is not always evident. 
There are two varieties of caterpillars noted, the ordinary type and 
a hairy species, but no constant difference in the method of repre- 
sentation is observable. 
The facts that many animals which are portrayed by realistic 
sketches are also represented by conventional and even purely 
geometric forms, that a number of others appear in both realistic 
and conventional settings, while a still larger number of animals, 
and particularly their parts, are associated only with geometric 
figures, do not necessarily prove that the tendency of representative 
art is to change from the realistic toward the geometric. On the 
contrary, the numerous unrelated interpretations given to geometric 
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Fic. 119.—New basket designs, Thompson 
figures, together with the fact that realistic art is the highest and 
therefore necessarily latest development in basketry decoration be- 
cause it is the most difficult, would argue for the other direction in 
development. It does not seem safe, however, to assume either 
tendency as general. Geometric forms are suggestive, and once a 
resemblance becomes apparent, are often, no doubt, elaborated into 
more realistic representations, as fancy dictates; on the other hand, 
realistic art, used for purposes of decoration, does tend to become 
conventional and even geometric. 
The animal forms commonly appearing in Thompson art are 
those with which the people are most familiar, the beaver, otter, deer, 
dog, horse, panther, fish, lizard, snake, and human beings. The bird 
forms are eagle, swallow, goose, grouse, owl, duck and crow; the 
flies, flies, dragonfly, beetle, grasshopper, spider, 
caterpillar, and woodworm. ‘The people are fond of depicting only 
parts of some creatures. For instance, the bear is never portrayed 
as an entire figure but is indicated merely by the foot or teeth. The 
