Fig. 1079.—Coming rain.
Mr. Keam in his MS. describes Fig. 1079 as two forms of the symbol of Aloseka, which is the bud of the squash. The form seen in the upper part of the figure, drawn in profile, is also used by the Moki to typify the east peak of the San Francisco mountains, the birthplace of the Aloseka; when the clouds circle, it presages the coming rain. In the rock carvings the curving profile is further conventionalized into straight lines and assumes the lower form.
The collection of characters given in Figs. 1080 and 1081 are selected from a list published by Maj. C. R. Conder (b). That list includes all the Hittite designs distinctly deciphered which are so far known, and they are divided by the author into two plates, one giving the “Hittite emblems,” as he calls them, “of known sound,” and which are all compared with the Cypriote, and some with the cuneiform, Egyptian, and other characters; and the other comprising the “Hittite emblems of uncertain sound.” The collection is highly suggestive for comparison of the significance of many forms commonly appearing in several lands and also as a study of conventionalizing. In these respects its presentation renders it unnecessary to dwell as much as would otherwise be required upon the collections of Egyptian and cuneiform characters, with which students are more familiar and which teach substantially the same lessons.
HITTITE EMBLEMS OF KNOWN SOUND.
Fig. 1080.—Hittite emblems of known sound.
a, a crook. Cypriote u.
b, apparently a key. Cypriote ke. Compare the cuneiform emblem ik, “to open.”
c, a tiara. Cypriote ko; Akkadian ku, “prince;” Manchu chu, “lord.”