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The Breathing Earth: Wupatki Blowholes (NPS)

As another part of the study, an archeological team noted that many blowhole sites and earth cracks in the monument are associated with prehistoric habitation sites. The frequency of these People and Blowholes associations is thought to be more than coincidental.

What significance might these blowholes and earth cracks have had for early people in the area? Air coming from blowholes is relatively cool in summer and warm in winter, prompting visitors today to suggest that they may have been used as air conditioners or heaters. Or maybe they served as weather predictors. When atmospheric pressure is low (and blowholes are blowing out) there is a greater chance of rain. In this arid land, blowholes may have been powerful and significant indicators of welcome change.

However, there are other possibilities to consider. Descendants of the Wupatki inhabitants still live in northern Arizona. They include the Hopi and Zuni, among others. In Hopi culture there is a story from the Second Mesa village of Shungopovi indicating that blowholes are connected to the supernatural, openings to the wind god, Yaponcha. Perhaps the people living in this area considered the blowholes to have spiritual significance and located some of their homes accordingly. Imagine what you would think of the blowholes if you were not bound by scientific thought.

https://www.nps.gov/wupa/planyourvisit/upload/breathing%20earth%20fourth-2.pdf