ABSTRACT
In 1970 a shallow, rock-outlined feature near the ruins of Pecos Pueblo (New Mexico) was excavated under the misconception that it was of Apache provenience. However, an analysis of the archeological material recovered and a review of the Pueblo ethnographic literature led to the conclusion that the stone enclosure was a Pueblo shrine honoring Mountain Lion, the most important of the Pueblo 'Beast Gods'. The ceremonial behavior involved with Mountain Lion is surprisingly uniform among the linguistically diverse Pueblos, in some of which Mountain Lion is associated with the horned, or plumed, serpent. The question then arises: was the emphasis on Mountain Lion in the southwestern United States an extension of the 'Feline Deity' cult of Mesoamerica and did it enter the Pueblo area some thousands of years ago as part of a ceremonial complex that included the Plumed Serpent, Quetzalcoatl? Whatever its origin, in the Southwest the feline cult met, and apparently accommodated to, the ancient and circumpolar cult of the Bear, which, among the Pueblos, is second only to Mountain Lion in the 'Beast God' hierarchy. Mountain Lion became the supernatural helper of warriors and hunters while Bear functions as the source of power behind the curers.
