The Passamaquoddy Tribe of Maine celebrated the return of a petroglyph site on Monday.

The 5.5 acres were returned to the tribe courtesy of the Maine Coast Heritage Trust. The site is home to the Picture Rocks, which were carved by Passamaquoddy ancestors thousands of years ago.

"Our life stories are on those rocks," Donald Soctomah, the tribe's historic preservation officer, told The Portland Press Herald. "It is our ancestors that made them, our ancestors that live in the stories that are transposed onto the rocks."

The trust conveyed the land to the tribe in exchange for a conservation easement on 300 acres that the tribe owns nearby. The efforts now protect more than 1,000 acres around Little Kennebec Bay.

There are only two other known petroglyph sites in Maine.

Get the Story:
Maine Coast Heritage Trust purchase restores Machias Bay shore land to tribe (The Bangor Daily News 10/24)
3,000 Year Old Drawings Returned To Passamaquoddy Tribe (WCSH 10/23) Life stories, cut in stone (The Portland Press Herald 10/22)

Relevant Links:
Pasamaquoddy Tribe, Pleasant Point Reservation - http://www.wabanaki.com
Passamaquoddy Tribe of Indian Township -