One of the most fragile of all the globular vessels is a specimen of
very thin black-and-white ware, perforated near the rim for suspension
(plate CXXXII). This form, although rare at Sikyatki, is represented
by several specimens, and in mode of decoration is very similar to the
cliff-house pottery. From its scarcity in Tusayan I am inclined to
believe that this and related specimens were not made of clay found in
the immediate vicinity of Sikyatki, but that the vessels were brought
to the ancient pueblo from distant places. As at least some of the
cliff houses were doubtless inhabited contemporaneously with and long
after the destruction of Sikyatki, I do not hesitate to say that the
potters of that pueblo were familiar with the cliff-dweller type of
pottery and acquainted with the technic which gave the black-and-white
ware its distinctive colors.
By far the largest number of specimens of smooth decorated pottery
from Sikyatki graves are food bowls or basins, evidently the dishes in
which food was placed on the floor before the members of a family at
their meals. As the mortuary offerings were intended as food for the
deceased it is quite natural that this form of pottery should far
outnumber any and all the others. In no instance do the food bowls
exhibit marks of smoke blackening, an indication that they had not
been used in the cooking of food, but merely as receptacles of the
same.
The beautiful decoration of these vessels speaks highly for the
artistic taste of the Sikyatki women, and a feast in which they were
used must have been a delight to the native eye so far as dishes were
concerned. When filled with food, however, much of the decoration of
the bowls must have been concealed, a condition avoided in the mode of
ornamentation adopted by modern Tusayan potters; but there is no doubt
that when not in use the decoration of the vessels was effectually
exhibited in their arrangement on the floor or convenient shelves.
The forms of these food bowls are hemispherical, gracefully rounded
below, and always without an attached ring of clay on which to stand
to prevent rocking. Their rims are seldom flaring, but sometimes have
a slight constriction, and while the rims of the majority are
perfectly circular, oblong variations are not wanting. Many of the
bowls are of saucer shape, with almost vertical sides and flat bases;
several are double, with rounded or flat base.
The surface, inside and out, is polished to a fine gloss, and when
exteriorly decorated, the design is generally limited to one side just
below the rim, which is often ornamented with double or triple
parallel lines, drawn in equidistant, quaternary, and other forms.
Most of the bowls show signs of former use, either wear on the inner
surface or on the base where they rested on the floor in former
feasts.
These mortuary vessels were discovered generally at one side of the
chest or neck of the person whose remains they were intended to
accompany, and a single specimen was found inverted over the head of
the deceased. The number of vessels in each grave was not constant,
and as many as ten were found with one skeleton, while in other graves
only one or two were found. In one instance a nest of six of these
basins, one inside another, was exhumed. While many of these mortuary
offerings were broken and others chipped, there were still a large
number as perfect as when made. Some of the bowls had been mended
before burial, as holes drilled on each side of a crack clearly
indicate. Fragments of various vessels, which evidently had been
broken before they were thrown into the graves, were common.
There is a general similarity in the artistic decoration of bowls
found in the same grave, as if they were made by the same potter; and
persons of distinction, as shown by other mortuary objects, were, as a
rule, more honored than some of their kindred in the character and
number of pottery objects deposited with their remains. There were
also a number of skeletons without ceramic offerings of any kind.
In one or two interments two or more small jars were found placed
inside of a food bowl, and in many instances votive offerings, like
turquois, beads, stones, and arrowpoints, had been deposited with the
dead. The bowls likewise contained, in some instances, prayer-sticks
and other objects, which will later be described.
One of the most interesting modifications in the form of the rim of
one of these food bowls is shown in plate CXX, _e_, which illustrates
a variation from the circular shape, forming a kind of handle or
support for the thumb in lifting the vessel. The utility of this
projection in handling a bowl of hot food is apparent. This form of
vessel is very rare, it being the only one of its kind in the
collection.
A considerable number of cups were found at Sikyatki; these vary in
size and shape from a flat-bottom saucer like specimen to a mug-shape
variety, always with a single handle (plate CXXV). Many of these
resemble small bowls with rounded sides, but there are others in which
the sides are vertical, and still others the sides of which incline at
an angle to the flattened base.
The handles of these cups are generally smooth, and in one instance
adorned with a figure in relief. The rims of these dippers are never
flaring, either inward or outward. As a rule they are decorated on the
exterior; indeed there is only one instance of interior decoration.
The handles of the dippers are generally attached at both ends, but
sometimes the handle is free at the end near the body of the utensil
and attached at the tip. These handles are usually flat, but sometimes
they are round, and often are decorated. Traces of imitations of the
braiding of two coils of clay are seen in a single specimen.[112]
[Illustration: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY