Leaders of Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico accepted the return of an ancient clay jar that was almost lost to thieves.

A tribal conservation officer foiled the theft in April 2006 after he saw two men try to remove the jar from an archaeological site. One of the men, who is from the pueblo, had asked his grandmother where such items might be found. He pleaded guilty while his accomplice awaits trial.

"This pot that sits before us today has a lot of meaning behind it," Acoma Pueblo Gov. Chandler Sanchez said at a ceremony in Albuquerque, the Associated Press reported. "It's a part of our ancestors. It's a part of who we are as Acoma people. We certainly with open arms accept it back."

The jar was made sometime between 900 and 1250 A.D.

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Feds return stolen artifact to pueblo (AP 1/29)