Evidence for the Origins of the Pueblo Katchina Cult as Suggested by Southwestern Rock Art

Abstract
Rock art studies have indicated that the katchina cult and associated religious sodalities arrived in the Pueblo Southwest in the early 14th century from the Jornada region of the Mogollon. Recent studies of prehistoric Pueblo social organization suggest that population aggregation after A.D. 1150 led to the need for means of intravillage social integration. It is proposed that the arrival of the katchina cult and its widespread acceptance occurred in response to this need for intravillage integrative mechanisms.