Wednesday, March 17, 2010
In the mythology of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, the raccoon was the subject of folk tales.[188] Stories such as How raccoons catch so many crayfish from the Tuscarora centered on its skills at foraging.[189] In other tales, the raccoon played the role of the trickster who outsmarts other animals, like coyotes and wolves.[190] Among others, the Dakota Sioux believed that the raccoon had natural spirit powers, since its mask resembled the facial paintings, two-fingered swashes of black and white, used during rituals to connect to spirit beings.[191] The Aztecs linked supernatural abilities especially to females whose commitment to their young was associated with the role of wise women in the tribal society.[192]
The raccoon also appears in Native American art across a wide geographic range. Petroglyphs with engraved raccoon tracks were found in Lewis Canyon, Texas; at the Crow Hollow Petroglyph site in Grayson County, Kentucky;[193][194] and in river drainages nearTularosa, New Mexico and San Francisco, California.[195] A true to detail figurine made of quartz stone, the Ohio Mound Builders' Stone Pipe, was found near the Scioto River. The meaning and significance of the Raccoon Priests Gorget which features a stylized carving of a raccoon and was found at the Spiro Mounds, Oklahoma, remains unknown.[196][197]
In Western culture, several autobiographical novels about living with a raccoon have been written, mostly for children. The best-known isSterling North's Rascal, which recounts how he raised a kit during World War I. In recent years, anthropomorphic raccoons played main roles in the animated television series The Raccoons, the computer-animated film Over the Hedge and the video game series Sly Cooper.
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