MentallytheHopiseemtobetheequalofanytribe，butitisdoubtfulwhethertheyhavemuchmoreinnatecapacitythanmanyoftheirmorebackwardneighbors。Neverthelesstheymademuchmoreprogressbeforethedaysofthewhiteman，ascaneasilybeseenintheirartisticdevelopment。EveryonewhohascrossedthecontinentbytheSantaFerouteknowshowinterestingandbeautifularetheirpottery，basketry，andweaving。NotonlyinartbutalsoingovernmenttheHopiarehighlyadvanced。Theirgoverningbodyisacouncilofhereditaryelderstogetherwiththechiefsofreligiousfraternities。Amongtheseofficialsthereisaspeakerchiefandawarchief，butthereseemsnevertohavebeenanysupremechiefofalltheHopi。Eachpueblohasanhereditarychiefwhodirectsallthecommunalwork，suchasthecleaningofthespringsandthegeneralcareofthevillage。
Crimesarerare。Thisatfirstsightseemsstrangeinviewofthefactthatnopenaltywasinflictedforanycrimeexceptsorcery，butunderHopilawalltransgressionscouldbereducedtosorcery。OneofthemoststrikingfeaturesofHopilifewasitsrichreligiousdevelopment。TheHopirecognizedalargenumberofsupernaturalbeingsandhadagreatstoreofmostinterestingandpoeticmythologicaltales。ThehomeoftheHopiwouldseematfirstsightasunfavorabletoprogressasthatoftheirUtecousins，buttheHopihavetheadvantageofbeingthemostnorthwesterlyrepresentativesoftheIndianswhodwellwithintheregionsofsummerrain。Fortunatelyforthem，theircountryistoodesertandunforestedforthemtosubsisttoanygreatdegreebythechase。Theyarethusforcedtodevotealltheirenergytoagriculture，throughwhichtheyhavedevelopedarelativelyhighstandardofliving。Theydwellfarenoughsouthtohavetheirheaviestrainfallinsummerandnotinwinter，asisthecaseinUtah，sothattheyareabletocultivatecropsofcornandbeans。
Wheresuchanintensivesystemofagricultureprevails，theworkofwomenisasvaluableasthatofmen。ThepositionofwomanisthusrelativelyhighamongtheHopi，forsheisusefulnotonlyforherassistanceinthelaborsofthefieldbutalsoforherskillinpreservingthecrops，grindingtheflour，andotherwisepreparingthecomparativelyvariedfoodwhichthistribefortunatelypossesses。
FromnorthernNewMexicoandArizonatoMexicoCitysummerrains，drywinters，andstilldriersprings，aretherule。Forestsarefew，andmuchofthecountryisdesert。Themoreabundanttherains，thegreaterthenumberofpeopleandthegreatertheopportunitiesfortheaccumulationofwealth，andthusforthatleisurewhichisnecessarytopartofacommunityifcivilizationistomakeprogress。Thatisonereasonwhythecivilizationofthesummerrainpeoplebecomesmorehighlydevelopedastheygofromnorthtosouth。ThefactthatthealtitudeofthecountryincreasesfromtheUnitedStatesbordersouthwardalsotendsinthesamedirection，foritcausestheclimatetobecoolerandmorebracingatMexicoCitythanatplacesfarthernorth。
Theimportanceofsummerrainsinstimulatinggrowthandinfacilitatingtheearlystagesofagricultureisnoteworthy。EveryonefamiliarwithArizonaandNewMexicoknowshowthesuddensummershowersfillthemountainvalleyswithfloodswhichflowdownupontheplainandrapidlyspreadoutintobroad，thinsheets，oftenknownasplayas。Therethewaterstandsashorttimeandtheneithersinksintothegroundorevaporates。Suchplacesarefavoredwiththebestkindofnaturalirrigation，andafterthefirstshoweritisaneasymatterfortheprimitivefarmertogooutanddropgrainsofcornintoholespunchedwithastick。Thereafterhecancountonothershowerstowaterhisfieldwhilethecornsproutsandgrowstomaturity。Allthatheneedstodoistowatchthefieldtoprotectitfromtheraredepredationsofwildanimals。Astimegoesontheprimitivefarmerrealizestheadvantageofleadingthewatertoparticularlyfavorablespotsandthusbeginstodevelopasystemofartificialirrigation。Inregionswheresuchadvantageousconditionsprevail，thepeoplewholivepermanentlyinoneplacesucceedbest，fortheworkthattheydooneyearhelpsthemthenext。Theyarenotgreatlytroubledbyweeds，for，thoughgrassesgrowaswellascornintheplaceswherethewaterspreadsout，thegrassestaketheformoflittleclumpswhichcaneasilybepulledup。Inthedrierpartsoftheareaofsummerrain，itbecomesnecessarytoconservethewatersupplytotheutmost。TheHopiconsidersandyfieldsthebest，fortheloosesandontopactsasanaturalblankettopreventevaporationfromtheunderlyinglayers。SometimesindryseasonstheHopiuseextraordinarymethodstohelptheirseedstosprout。Forinstance，theyplaceaseedinaballofsaturatedmudwhichtheyburybeneathseveralinchesofsand。Asthesandpreventsevaporation，practicallyallthewaterisretainedfortheuseoftheseed，whichthereuponsproutsandgrowssomeinchesbythetimethefirstsummerfloodsarrive。