PRIMITIVE ART II 
the long dorsal fin; D 4, representations of the bear, which 
is characterized by its large mouth, often represented with pro- 
truding tongue, and its large paws; D 5, those of the raven; D 6, 
those of the thunder-bird or hawk and the eagle, the thunder-bird 
being characterized by the 
hooked beak, which turns 
back into the mouth. 
One of the peculiar char- 
acteristics of the decorative 
art of the North Pacific 
coast is the frequent occur- 
rence of the “‘eye.’’ A form 
similar to an eye, consisting 
of an inner and an outer cir- 
cle, is applied to indicate all 
joints, evidently to signify 
the socket and the head 
moving in the socket. Of- 
ten this eye is elaborated as a whoe face, which then makes 
the interpretation of the animal form very difficult. 
The essential features of the decorative art of the coast 
Indians of Alaska and British Columbia may thus be charac- 
terized as a representation of animal forms by means of distor- 
tion and omission, the decorative 
forms being somewhat realistic rep- 
resentations of parts of the body, 
preference being gven to those 
parts which are symbolic of each 
animal. 
Purely geometrical decoration is 
found in only one place on the 
North Pacific coast. It is applied 
to the basketry of the Tlingit In- 
dians (Case E 3-8), who, however, 
in their painting and carving, use 
the style of art described before. This geometrical style 
was probably developed in imitation of the porcupine -em- 
