Many Native Americans say that these symbols are still used and can be interpreted in a tribal context. In consultation, some have explained that many of the anthropomorphs have ceremonial significance and indicate that an important ceremony occurred at that location. Symbols inscribed on Fruitas cliffs are highly meaningful to knowledgeable Native American elders and religious specialists. To them, the symbols are communications. Dating rock images is difficult.
Scientific methods depend on plant or animal remains for tree-ring or radiocarbon dating.
Petroglyphs, pecked into the rock, have neither. Pictographs, painted with mineral pigment on the rock, rarely have associated tree-rings, but do sometimes have organic materials mixed into the pigment. Dating requires that pigment be scraped off for laboratory analysis, which is destructive to the panel. At Capitol Reef, no rock images have been dated in these ways. This range will undoubtedly be narrowed down as archeologists date more Fremont sites at Capitol Reef.