Little is known about the purpose of these petroglyphs. They are not a form of writing and cannot be translated. The figures may have been produced as part of personal or group rituals intended to influence events in the natural world on which American Indian people relied for survival. Carvings of animals and animal tracks may have been part of hunting rituals, and by carving a symbol of the animal being hunted, an artist may have believed he could capture or control its spirit. Some carvings may have recorded symbolism experienced in dreams produced by fasting, an integral part of American Indian spiritual life. Others may have had a place in fertility rites concerned with the continuation of families and the natural world, and they also may have served as memory devices illustrating tales and legends for later generations.