Sikyátki is an archeological site and former

Hopi The Hopi are Native Americans who primarily live in northeastern Arizona. The majority are enrolled in the Hopi Tribe of Arizona and live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona; however, some Hopi people are enrolled in the Colorado ...

village spanning on the eastern side of

First Mesa First Mesa (Hopi: Wàlpi) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Navajo County, Arizona, United States, on the Hopi Reservation. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 1,555, spread among three Hopi villages atop the 5,700-foot (1,740 m ...

, in what is now

Navajo County Navajo County () is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 106,717. The county seat is Holbrook. Navajo County comprises the Show Low, Arizona Micropolitan Statistical Area. N ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. The village was inhabited by Kokop (Firewood) clan of the Hopi from the 14th to the 17th century.

Jesse Walter Fewkes Jesse Walter Fewkes (November 14, 1850 – May 31, 1930) was an American anthropologist, archaeologist, writer, and naturalist. Early life and education Fewkes was born in Newton, Massachusetts on November 14, 1850, and initially trained as a ...

led a

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

funded excavation of the site in 1895. During the excavations many well-preserved ceramic sherds were found. The designs on the sherds inspired the artist

Nampeyo Nampeyo (1859Other sources cite 1860 or 1868. – 1942) was a Hopi-Tewa potter who lived on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona. Her Tewa name was also spelled Num-pa-yu, meaning "snake that does not bite". Her name is also cited as "Nung-beh-yong," ...

; sparking the Sikyátki revival in polychrome pottery. Sikyátki means "Yellow House" in the

Hopi language Hopi (Hopi: ) is a Uto-Aztecan language spoken by the Hopi people (a Puebloan group) of northeastern Arizona, United States. The use of Hopi has gradually declined over the course of the 20th century. In 1990, it was estimated that more than ...

. According to

oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information from people, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people who pa ...

, the neighboring village of Wálpi burned Sikyátki and exterminated its residents. The attack was triggered when a Sikyátki villager cut off the head of the sister of a Wálpi man who had offended him.

Notes

References

The Destruction of Sikyátki in Hopi Oral Tradition

External links

Sikyatki (ancestral Hopi) pottery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sikyatki Archaeological sites in Arizona Buildings and structures in Navajo County, Arizona Former populated places in Navajo County, Arizona History of Navajo County, Arizona Hopi Reservation