In recent years, archaeologists investigating the Chaco Anasazi have tended to focus on religious or cosmographic explanations for the prehistoric roads. These models usually take one of two perspectives. In the first, roads are seen as symbolic representations of Chacoan cosmology (Marshall 1992; Sofaer et al. 1989). Proponents of this perspective focus on the alignment of roads with cardinal directions as well as the axial oppositions that the roads form. Roads of this kind are thought to be completely straight, with no consideration for minimizing either the effort to construct the road or the costs of travelling on them. The most commonly cited example is the North Road, which exhibits a northern alignment and general axial opposition with the South Road (Figure 1) (Lekson 1996; Sofaer et al. 1989).

Other scholars focus on religious explanations that relate the roads to the immediate ritual landscape surrounding the communities from which the roads emanate (Fowler and Stein 1992). Archaeologists espousing this perspective note that almost all roads begin or end at Great Houses or Great Kivas, both which are believed to have served religious functions for the Chaco Anasazi. The identification of some roads connecting non-contemporaneous specialized architecture has led to the concept of "roads through time" that symbolically linked religious features from different time periods (Adler 1994:98-99; Fowler and Stein 1992:116-118; Mahoney et al. 1995).

The first model of religious road function is difficult to evaluate in the absence of a clear idea of the range of possible cosmographical expressions that the Chaco Anasazi might have symbolized. None of the roads in the study area seem to be axial opposites of one another, and none align with any of the cardinal directions. Even the South Road has strayed significantly from due south by the time it enters the community of Kin Ya'a (Figure 2).

In contrast, many of the roads in the study area may have symbolically connected features on the local religious landscape. Several prehistoric road segments clearly link Great Houses to Great Kivas. In a few cases, idealized cost-paths generated between these architectural features correspond with road segments, such as in the community of Andrews (Figure 5). Other completely straight roads connect Great Houses with Great Kivas (e.g., Figure 6).

At least two road segments appear to be directed towards Hosta Butte, a prominent geological feature that is visible as far away as Chaco Canyon. The most interesting example of this is the South Road, which originates in Chaco Canyon and passes through Kin Ya'a (Figure 7). This road aligns with a cost-path between Kin Ya'a and Hosta Butte, and it also corresponds well with a straight line connecting these two points. An identical pattern is found for a road segment emanating from the Andrews community (Figure 5). Shrines with offerings have been found on Hosta Butte, which is an important feature in the cosmography of local indigenous groups (Marshall and Sofaer 1988). The road segments suggest that the butte was also an important point on the prehistoric religious landscape.