Native Americans made these pictographs some 800 to 2,000 years ago using paint from powdered minerals, charcoal, or crushed plants mixed with binders such as saliva, blood, or vegetable juices, and a chewed, frayed yucca leaf could serve as a brush. Many have been identified by Native Americans as representing sacred beings or ceremonies, while others may record noteworthy events such as a successful hunt, with spirals symbolizing the travels or migrations of a clan. Some appear to have served as trail markers, territorial claims, or signs of water, and some were positioned so that sunlight or shadows fall on them in specific ways at the solstice or equinox, leading archeologists to believe they served as calendars for the Mogollon Indians who once lived here. Other pictographs illustrate characters or events in traditional legends, and frequent images of big game may have been created to encourage fertility or success in hunting.