According to the
Zuni, the first
humans came from four
caves in the
underworld. At this time the surface of the
Earth was a bit of a
nasty place; covered with
water, constantly shaking, and filled with big
evil beasts. The
Children of the Sun, moved by the
dire situation the
humans were in, dried the Earth with
lightning and to shrink the
animals and turn them into
stone. The only animals that
escaped are the ones we have today. Thus, the
Earth and the animals were made what they are today.
This myth also sheds a bit of light on the subject of Zuni fetishes, which are considered to be petrified supernatural beings from the creation myth (Maybe they read Slashdot?). These talismans are small stone carvings that are animal-shaped. The most powerful of these being ones that are naturally shaped stones which represent the original animals.