180 THE CLIFF RUINS OF CANYON DE CHELLY [ets anw.16 
Fie. 76—Design employed in decorative band. 

There are four bars or up- 
right bands, done in white 
paint, and surmounted by 
four round dots or spots. 
To the left of the four bars, 
level with their tops, there 
is a small triangle, also in 
white. The bars are 30 
inches long and 4 inches 
wide. The upper dots are 
nearly ~ feet above the tops 
of the bars. It is evident 
that this figure was designed 
to be seen from a distance. 
Figure 74 shows some mark- 
ings on the cliff wall back of 
ruin No, 37. 
Examples almost identical 
with those shown here are 
abundant in the Mancos 
ruins. It is probable that 
they are of ceremonial rather 
than of decorative origin, 
and in this connection it 
may be stated that Mr Frank 
H, Cushing has observed in 
Zuni the ceremony of mark- 
ing the sides of a kiva hatch- 
way with white bars closely 
resembling those shown in 
figure 73. This ceremony 
occurs once in four years, 
and the purpose of the marks 
is said to be to indicate the 
cardinal directions. In the 
ceremonials of the Pueblo 
Indians it is necessary to 
know where the cardinal 
points are; a prayer, for in- 
stance, is often addressed to 
the north, west, south, and 
east, and when such cere- 
monials were performed in 
a circular chamber some 
means by which the direc- 
tion could be determined was 
essential. 
