66
The angular width is an indicator or the precision with which a single site may
yield a precise observation. The least precise site in our data is the series of mounds
called Pülhomotaka, which spans a range of almost 2° in azimuth; the most precise
site in our data is Kwiitsala, which spans an azimuth range of only 6 arc min.
In all cases the angular height is significantly less than the angular width.
Kwiitsala, the most prominent of the markers, has an angular height of 3.6 arc min.
Such a compact, well defined site seems to have been favored by Hopi observers, as
Kwiitsala appears in both the First Mesa and Second Mesa planting calendars. One
factor that reinforces the visibility of markers with small angular height is that they
are found in a sequence of regular planting markers. The presence of a sequence of
markers may be taken to increase the likelihood of markers that would be considered marginal if considered in isolation.
Three First Mesa planting markers, Pavöntsomo, Kwiitsala, and
Pövaimükpöveöisti also appear in the horizon calendar for Shungopavi on Second
Mesa, under the names Pavüntcotcomo, Wokwalca, and Walcahoya. These shared
markers are all characterized by an angular height in excess of 2 arc min when seen
from Walpi Pueblo, or in excess of 1.4 arc min when seen from Shungopavi.
The two hills of Neveqtsomo stand only some 10 m above the local terrain; an
observer at First Mesa would see them protruding only 1 arc min above the horizon
line. This is very close to the limit of visibility and, as Fig. 7 indicates, they are scarcely
visible even with considerable magnification and a vertical exaggeration of 3 to 1.
And yet these mounds are widely named in the ethnographic literature as planting
markers, and Forde (1931: 384) noted that the name Neveqtsomo was one of two
markers that would be known by “a well-educated Hopi of Walpi” to have a “precise
significance.” Although Neveqtsomo is only scarcely visible to an uninformed
observer, it was recognized by the Hopi as an important part of the planting calendar.
5.3 Names as Ethnographic Correlates
The ethnographic sources provide us with an extensive sampling of the names associated with the markers in the Hopi planting calendar, which indicate the kinds of
names that we can expect to find in other horizon calendars. There are four independent sets of names collected at First Mesa by Stephen (1893b) and Fewkes (1897:
258–259), by Agayo and Freire-Marreco (Forde, 1931: 387), by Crow Wing (1925)
and Parsons (1920, 1933), and by Forde (1931: 386, Fig. 6a); additional sets of
names were collected at Second Mesa by Forde (1931: 386, Fig. 6b) and at Third
Mesa by Voth (1901: 149–152) and Titiev (1938). In two of the three cases where
the same marker is used at both First and Second Mesa, the markers have distinctly
different names at First and Second Mesa, indicating that the planting calendars of
nearby villages had a degree of independent development.
The names of these markers (Fig. 8) can provide additional evidence for identifying and locating specific places of sunrise or sunset. The most common names
(50%) describe the marker itself, for example Neveqtsomo, two mounds side by
S. C. McCluskey
The angular width is an indicator or the precision with which a single site may
yield a precise observation. The least precise site in our data is the series of mounds
called Pülhomotaka, which spans a range of almost 2° in azimuth; the most precise
site in our data is Kwiitsala, which spans an azimuth range of only 6 arc min.
In all cases the angular height is significantly less than the angular width.
Kwiitsala, the most prominent of the markers, has an angular height of 3.6 arc min.
Such a compact, well defined site seems to have been favored by Hopi observers, as
Kwiitsala appears in both the First Mesa and Second Mesa planting calendars. One
factor that reinforces the visibility of markers with small angular height is that they
are found in a sequence of regular planting markers. The presence of a sequence of
markers may be taken to increase the likelihood of markers that would be considered marginal if considered in isolation.
Three First Mesa planting markers, Pavöntsomo, Kwiitsala, and
Pövaimükpöveöisti also appear in the horizon calendar for Shungopavi on Second
Mesa, under the names Pavüntcotcomo, Wokwalca, and Walcahoya. These shared
markers are all characterized by an angular height in excess of 2 arc min when seen
from Walpi Pueblo, or in excess of 1.4 arc min when seen from Shungopavi.
The two hills of Neveqtsomo stand only some 10 m above the local terrain; an
observer at First Mesa would see them protruding only 1 arc min above the horizon
line. This is very close to the limit of visibility and, as Fig. 7 indicates, they are scarcely
visible even with considerable magnification and a vertical exaggeration of 3 to 1.
And yet these mounds are widely named in the ethnographic literature as planting
markers, and Forde (1931: 384) noted that the name Neveqtsomo was one of two
markers that would be known by “a well-educated Hopi of Walpi” to have a “precise
significance.” Although Neveqtsomo is only scarcely visible to an uninformed
observer, it was recognized by the Hopi as an important part of the planting calendar.
5.3 Names as Ethnographic Correlates
The ethnographic sources provide us with an extensive sampling of the names associated with the markers in the Hopi planting calendar, which indicate the kinds of
names that we can expect to find in other horizon calendars. There are four independent sets of names collected at First Mesa by Stephen (1893b) and Fewkes (1897:
258–259), by Agayo and Freire-Marreco (Forde, 1931: 387), by Crow Wing (1925)
and Parsons (1920, 1933), and by Forde (1931: 386, Fig. 6a); additional sets of
names were collected at Second Mesa by Forde (1931: 386, Fig. 6b) and at Third
Mesa by Voth (1901: 149–152) and Titiev (1938). In two of the three cases where
the same marker is used at both First and Second Mesa, the markers have distinctly
different names at First and Second Mesa, indicating that the planting calendars of
nearby villages had a degree of independent development.
The names of these markers (Fig. 8) can provide additional evidence for identifying and locating specific places of sunrise or sunset. The most common names
(50%) describe the marker itself, for example Neveqtsomo, two mounds side by
S. C. McCluskey