The Pu`u Loa petroglyph site is in a more-or-less middle-of-nowhere section of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. It was a popular destination, however, over the hundreds of years when its 23,000+ carvings were being created, and it remains deservedly so today for visitors to the park.
The site is especially rich in cupules, where umbilical cord stumps were placed to ensure health and long life for babies. It appears many family members made the trek to this location to perform that ritual.
Much of the information on this and my other Hawaii pages is from the highly recommend Spirit of Place: Petroglyphs of Hawaii, by Georgia Lee and Edward Stasack. It seems to be the most authoritative account of what we know about the carvings, and the difficulties of knowing what we know. The extensive data it lays out reflects an impressive amount of research, and the authors also appreciate the aesthetic impact of the petroglyphs. The book is out of print and copies are expensive, but you might try the library.
The National Park Services Pu’u Loa page.
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