These spirals probably served as part of a ritual calendar. Elsewhere, according to modern Pueblos, spirals are symbols of a group's migration from one locale to another. Other symbols may have acted as maps, pointing out the locations of villages and other features. Animal figures may have played roles in rituals or prayers for successful hunting. Corn plants might represent a successful harvest.
Some symbols represent family, clan or ceremonial society affiliation.
Many of these same designs appear in the decorations of early Puebloan pottery. Before the Bureau of Reclamation began to build McPhee Dam near Dolores, federal law required an investigation of the area that would be affected by the new reservoir. The DAP fully excavated 120 sites, providing an intensive look at Ancestral Puebloan life in the Dolores area. The resulting collections are preserved and displayed in the Anasazi Heritage Center. In 1776 a small expedition headed north from Santa Fe, seeking a route to the California missions while exploring unknown territory.