HOLMES ANNIVERSARY VOLUME 



Fig. 8. — Cover of vase from 

 Oak-tree House. 



Oak-tree House is a conoid stone with 

 flat base of oval outline. The sides are 

 slightly curved, converging in a blunt 

 apex. This specimen is practically 

 identical in shape with one from Cliff 

 Palace, mentioned elsewhere. 1 The 

 Hopi use on their altars similar ob- 

 jects made of wood, stone, or clay, 

 and call them idols of Alosaka or 

 Muyinwu, germ gods, or simply 

 "corn mounds" (kaetukwi). Those of 

 the two basket dances (Lalakonti and 

 Owakulti) have been mentioned and 

 figured elsewhere, as likewise has the 

 "corn mound" of the Powamu and 

 New Fire rites. I have also figured and 

 described prehistoric "corn mounds", 

 one of which was found in a grave at 

 Sikyatki at the East Mesa of the Hopi. 

 "Among many other mortuary 

 offerings was one which was particu- 

 larly suggestive. This specimen, rep- 



resented in plate clxx, 2, 

 is made of unbaked clay, 

 and has a reticulated sur- 

 face, as if once incrusted 

 with foreign objects. The 

 Hopi who were at work for 

 me declared that this in- 

 crustation had been com- 

 posed of seeds (corn), and 

 that the pits over the sur- 

 face of the clay cone were 

 evidence of their former 

 existence. They identified 

 this object as a 'corn 

 mound' and reminded me 

 that a similar object is now 

 used in the Powamu, Lala- 

 konti, and certain other ceremonies 



Fig. 9. — Cover of vase from Oak-tree House. 



These corn mounds are 



[ Bull, si, Bur. Amer. Ethnol., p. 67. 



[112] 



