90 



TWO SUMMERS WORK IN PUEBLO RUINS 



[ETH. ANN. 22 



OH shields, oi- is flit in pictou'raplis. But it is in deeoratiou of pottery 

 tliat this simple foiiii rt'iiclics its liighost mo<lifieatioii and complica- 

 tion, and it is remarkable liow many complex figures can be reduced 

 to this simple type. The horns of the two crescents may elongate and 

 develop into square frets or spiral extensions, and these in turn may 

 be continued into triangular appendages with dentate or serrate mar- 

 gins. They may become terraced figures, their edges so clo.sely approxi- 

 mated as to be separated by zigzag intervals, which in all cases are 

 but the space left by the break. With all these modifications, no 

 matter how comijlicated, the motive can be reduced to the two horns 

 of adjacent crescents opening toward each other, but not joining. 

 The break is comparable to that in encircling bands drawn on pueblo 

 pottery, called the broken lines or "lines of life." Consider such a 

 line about a vase, Ixiwl, or jar to be broken at several points, or, as 

 the author found in several instances, to have three breaks, and the 

 ends so extended as to ovei-lap the intervals either above or below; 

 modify The extremities thus extended into terraced figures, spirals, or 



frets, and we have some of the 

 developments of this most chai-- 

 acteristic of all motives in the 

 geometrical designs of decorated 

 I'nel)lo pottery. This broken 

 line, witli its modifications, is 

 nsed almost universallj' as a 

 decorative motive l)y Pueblo 

 potters, ancient and modei-n, 

 whether living in pueblos, cliffs, 

 or caves. The design on the 

 armlet shown in the rtgure is a modification of the same motive. 



A single specimen of armlet, shown in figure 47, has a turquoise set 

 in the outer surface near the edge. The stone was probably fastened 

 there with pitch, the armlet Ijeing the only specimen of shell inlaid 

 with tur<|U()ise in the collection. 



The wristlets were made of the same genus as were the armlets, 

 but from smaller specimens. A number of these ornaments were 

 found in some instances encircling the radius and ulna. The majoi-- 

 ity were from Chaves pass. Twenty-nine complete specimens were 

 secured hei'e, together with many fragments, and one specimen was 

 found at Ilomolobi. 



Bracelets made of this shell are smaller, slighter, as a rule less care- 

 fully worked, but more abundant than the armlets. The majority 

 are perforated at the umbo, Init the valves are so ground down that 

 there remains no space for the heart-shaiied elevation; indeed, the 

 thickness of the shell would not admit of it. Like the armlets, thej' 

 are sometimes found free in a grave, as though cast there as a votive 

 offering, but there can be no doubt that thej' were bracelets, for in 



Fkj. 47. Armlet with inlaid turquoise, from 

 Chevlon (number 1.57295). Diameter about 3i 

 inches. 



