Among the inhabitants of an arid region, where rain-making forms a
dominant element in their ritual, water animals are eagerly adopted as
symbols. Among these the tadpole occupies a foremost position. The
figures of this batrachian are very simple, and are among the most
common of those used on ceremonial paraphernalia in Tusayan at the
present time. In none of these is anything more than a globular head
and a zigzag tail represented, and, as in nature, these are colored
black. The tadpole appears on several pieces of painted pottery from
Sikyatki, one of the best of which is the food bowl illustrated in
plate CXXXIII, _a_. The design represents a number of these aquatic
animals drawn in line across the diameter of the inner surface of the
bowl, while on each side there is a row of rectangular blocks
representing rain clouds. These blocks are separated from the tadpole
figures by crescentic lines, and above them are short parallel lines
recalling the symbol of falling rain.
One of the most beautiful forms of ladles from Sikyatki is figured in
plate CXXXIII, _b_, a specimen in which the art of decoration by
spattering is effectively displayed. The interior of the bowl of this
dipper is divided by parallel lines into two zones, in each of which
two tadpoles are represented. The handle is pointed at the end and is
decorated. This specimen is considered one of the best from Sikyatki.
The rudely drawn picture on the bowl figured in plate CXXXII, _f_,
would be identified as a frog, save for the presence of a tail which
would seem to refer it to the lizard kind. But in the evolution of the
tadpole into the frog a tailed stage persists in the metamorphosis
after the legs develop. In modern pictures[138] of the frog with which
I am familiar, this batrachian is always represented dorsally or
ventrally with the legs outstretched, while in the lizards, as we have
seen, a lateral view is always adopted. As the sole picture found on
ancient pottery where the former method is employed, this fact may be
of value in the identification of this rude outline as a frog rather
than as a true reptile.