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Stone Cairns

By Mary Gage
2/3/2007

Preface

Stone cairns are found throughout North America from the sub-arctic regions of Canada to the lower 48 states. The highest concentrations of cairns are found on the eastern seaboard from the Chesapeake Bay north into the Canadian maritime provinces and westward to the Great Lakes region. This article will focus on the stone cairns found in the New England region.

Table of Contents

Identification

How to Evaluate a Cairn Group and Site Layout

Aditional Information

Conclusion

References

An annotated bibliography with quotations of pertinent passages concerning Native American usage of stone cairns is available on the Source Materials-Cairns webpage. In the text of this article click on (Ref. ###) to link to specific references.

Identification

I. Definitions

What is a cairn? A cairn is an intentionally constructed pile of stones. It is built one stone at a time. Cairns have been used by humans in the northeastern United States as far back in time as 5,000 years ago and continue to be used today. Cairns were built by both Native American Indians and white settlers. They were used by the Native Americans for ceremonial purposes and by white settlers for utilitarian purposes.

What is a stone pile? A stone pile is a disorganized heap of stones created as the result of field clearing or for the purpose of stone wall building. A stone pile was never intended to be an intentionally built stone structure with a specific purpose. Rather it is the byproduct farming related activities.

II. Field Clearing and Stone Wall Pile Identification

Field Clearing Stone Piles were used to get rid of unwanted stone. Stone was dumped out of a cart, wagon or stone boat. It was loosely piled with stone scatter around the edges. They are found at the edge of fields and occasionally on a wooded island in middle of field. Stone size is mixed.

Stone Wall Building Piles are found as a series of stone piles in a straight line along the intended line of a wall. The piles can be a mix of different size stones or piles of sorted sized stones. Some of these lines of piles have a wall started and in progress. Others were piled up with the intention of building a wall that never got started. The piles are dumped and therefore exhibit stone scatter around the edges. The piles are all the same size as the same wagon or cart was used to create each pile. They are usually spaced evenly apart along the line.

III. Combined Cairn and Field Clearing Pile Identification

In some cases, field clearing stone was added to an existing Native American cairn. The combined field clearing pile and Native American stone cairn can be identified by the compactness of the cairn (generally with small to medium sized stones) to which was added field clearing stone dumped from a wagon or rolled off of stone sleds. The field clearing stone will be out of character with the cairn. In many cases the field clearing stone will be boulder size and found around the edges of cairn or occasionally on top of it. With smaller size field clearing stone the typical stone scatter is generally evident. This practice of adding field clearing stone to existing cairns is well documented at the Miner Farm in Hopkinton, RI (Bob Miner, personal communication, 2006)

IV. Property Boundary Marker Stone Cairn Identification

Property Boundary Marker Cairns are single small piles of stone. They often times but not always have a metal post. They can sometimes by identified by modern surveying marks like orange paint or surveyor’s tape.

V. Hiking Trail Cairns Identification
 
Trail Cairns are placed at regular intervals along a path. Cairns are uniform in style and size. They were common years ago, and today they are still used above tree line on some mountains such as Mt. Washington. They were built by hikers and Boy Scouts in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Fig. 1 - Field clearing stone pile

Fig. 2 - Stone wall building piles

Fig. 3 - Stone cairn with field clearing boulders added to it.

Fig. 4 - Cairn with metal pipe in middle

Fig. 5 - Hiking trail cairn Haystack Mountain, NH

VI. Native American Ceremonial Cairn Identification

Native American cairns are generally found in groups. The cairns within the group show a random, irregular placement. They generally contain several different styles and sizes. Many groups (but not all) are found within a walled-in field. Some stone walls are Native American and others were built by farmers. A group of cairns enclosed by stone walls is sometimes referred to as a “cairn field.”

Base of Cairn

The use of base identification is the primary means of classifying cairns. Classifying cairns aids in tracking cairn traits within a local area, a regional area, and between one region and another region. Identification of bases is divided into three groups: ground, base stone, split stone. Every known cairn falls into one of these three groups.

Ground

Ground refers to any cairn built directly on the ground. Cairns on the ground have a wide range of size from the small two feet diameter by few inches high to sixty (+) feet diameter by five (+) feet high.

Ground cairns come in several different designs. The mound design with a rounded dome top is the most common. It comes in small up to extra large. Large cairns have varied construction. They range from mounds to straight-side vertical walled cairns. Depressions are occasionally seen in large cairns. Some cairns are attached to corners of stone walls. Others were built on hillsides. A few hillside cairns cover the whole hillside. These usually have a retaining wall. Other hillside cairns were built to create platforms on side of hill. Seasonal streambeds in some regions are a favored place to build a cairn.

Large cairns of the mound or hillside design have two distinct ways of being created. First is to add a single stone at a time. Second is to add a whole small mound cairn on top of the cairn already built. Some of these extra-large cairns appear to have a mix of both single stone addition and whole small cairn addition. Small whole cairns are most easily seen along edge of large cairn where the shape can be seen.

Fig. 6 - Large mounded ground cairn

Fig. 9 - Triangule shaped cairn build into the corner of two stone walls

Fig. 7 - Walled ground cairn

Fig. 10 - Close-up of a depression in a cairn

Fig. 8 - Hillside cairn with retaining wall

Fig. 11 - Cairn made from layers of flat stones

Base Stone

A base stone is the common factor. The base stone can be an above ground boulder, below ground boulder with exposed top, above ground bedrock called an outcrop, surface level exposed bedrock. Base stone ranges from ground level up to three to four feet high. Height is sometimes a factor but not always. It is a site by site evaluation. Stones with splits filled with other stones are a separate category, see Split Stone.

Stones placed on base stone range from a single stone to a few stones to large quantities of stones. Large cairns show up as several types: a mound of stone; an outer wall of larger stone with small stone fill; and a solid cairn with vertical sides whereby the stones interlock. For other designs see Characteristics.

Fig. 12 - Mound of stone on base stone

Fig. 15 - Single stone in notch of base stone

Fig. 13 - Walled cairn with interior stone fill on base stone

Fig. 16 - Two stone on base stone with quartz vein

Fig. 14 - Single layer of stones on base stone

Fig. 17 - Five stones on base stone

Split Stone

Split stone exhibits a total split or crack in the base stone. Splits are found in single boulders completely split into two sections facing each other, outcrops with one or more splits, and boulders with cracks. The split stone is always above ground or has one face exposed as in some outcrops. Split-stone boulders range from 1’ high to 6’ high.

Split stones at cairn sites are found with and without stone fill. A split stone without fill that has a cairn nearby is a spirit portal to the Underworld. It is rare. The split stones with fill are split stone cairns. Fill can partially fill the split or completely fill the split. Occasionally extra stones will be found on top of boulder or outcrop in addition to the filled splits. As a general rule there is one or two split boulder cairns per site, however, there are always exceptions.

Fig. 18 - Split boulder without stone fill

Fig. 19 - Two splits filled with stones

Specialized Stones added as Features to Cairns

Features are stones that have a particular shape, size, material or color that standout from the common cairn stones. Known examples are standing stones, triangular stones, quartz and colored stones. Standing stones are any stone short or tall that is erected in a standing position. It can be on top, against side or on rare occasions found inside the cairn during an excavation. Triangular shaped stones were placed on tops of cairns, leaning against sides, and jutting out from one side of cairn. Quartz is the most common feature. There is usually one to a few pieces of quartz placed on a cairn. Quartz pieces have a range of color from clear, smoky, white, to rose. Color is defined by a colored stone of any material that stands out. White is the most common color found on cairns. Triangles, quartz and white have all been identified as being protective symbolism.

Fig. 21 - Triangle stone leaned against a stone cairn

Fig. 20 -  Piece of milky white quartz added to cairn

Characteristics

Characteristics are particular aspects that can be tracked.  More than one characteristic can apply to single cairn.

Individual Cairns (Non-Group): These are individual, single cairns without any other cairns near them. Historically recorded Trailside Cairns were individual cairns built by many people over a long period of time (ref. 205, 218). Peace Cairns were built as a single cairn or a set of two cairns at a one time event (ref. 418, 500). A few single historic and modern day memorial cairns exist (ref. 505, 419). This latter type usually has a known history. The Individual Cairn is not a part of a group.

The cairns listed under the following characteristics are a part of cairn groups

Single-Person Cairn: Cairns with one to a few stones placed on top of a base stone. Some designs are arranged in a single layer. Other designs exhibit a tall effect with stones placed on top of each other. These appear to have been built by a single person.

Multi-Person Cairn: Irregardless of the cairn’s base type, size is the major factor. A small two feet diameter by eight inch high cairn was likely built by a small group of people. This type of cairn is thought to have been built during a ceremony and to be a one time event. There are often times numerous small cairns in a cairn field.

Medium-large, large, and extra-large (ten feet plus diameter by five feet high) type cairns were built over a long period of time. These large cairns are thought to have been created by ordinary people and shamans who attended the ceremony. They are sometimes built by each person adding an individual stone. At other times, whole small cairns two to three feet diameter were added to the large cairn indicating a small band or group created that particular cairn. At some cairn fields there are one or two which are out numbered by small cairns. At other cairn fields large cairns dominate and are more numerous.

Some medium to medium-large cairns on ground are sometimes older than the surface appearance appears. One example of this type was excavated in Freetown, MA. Soil built up two feet burying all but the mounded top. [101]

Marker Cairn: Some cairn groups or fields exhibit a single cairn that stands out from the rest of the cairns. In one local area the builders used the same basic design cairn for their marker cairns. A base stone with a depression was chosen and then one to three stones were placed in the depression. At each site there is only one of these cairn designs. Each site is somewhat different the only common factor is the cairn in the depression of base stone. The cairn is some kind of marker cairn built by one individual probably a shaman. In this case, the marker cairn appears to form links over time and possibly between ceremonial areas. It must be noted that not all the cairn sites in this area have a marker cairn, the reason is unknown. On Cape Cod many sites have a large boulder surrounded on the ground by a ring of small stones. This is another type of marker cairn.

Marker cairns are usually created with a few stones and made to stand out. Marker designs vary from geographical area to geographical area. Some areas have markers other areas do not.

Specialty Cairn: At many sites there are several cairns with specialty status. One such cairn design is a cairn built on a raised boulder with large stone around edge to hold in smaller cairn stones on top. Stones on the top continue to trail down to the ground. This design is called “On Boulder Trailing to Ground.” This is a particular design repeatedly used at cairn sites. Generally there is only one of these cairns per site. A second type is a cairn leaning against a raised boulder. The cairn stone is on the ground and leans against the boulder. A third type is a flat topped boulder with a single layer of numerous stones covering most of the top. These cairns appear to have been built by many people. It is not known if they are group oriented or individual oriented.

Geometric Shaped Cairns: At some sites base stones with flat tops have stones arranged in a geometric pattern. A single line of stones, U shaped and circle are three known patterns.

Fig. 22 - “On Boulder Trailing to Ground”

Fig. 23 - U-Shaped Cairn

Split Stone Cairns: Many sites have one or two split stones filled with small stones. Occasionally, large boulders with cracks have stones placed in the cracks. These types of cairns have access to the Underworld.

Streambed Cairns: This is usually a cairn on the ground built in a seasonal streambed. Seasonal streambeds are most active during spring thaws and snow meltdown. In turn, the cairn was placed in direct contact with flowing water. Water observed during off-season, flows underneath these cairns like seepage at beaver dams. High flowage periods would force some water around edges of these cairns (No observations have been done). Water in Native American culture contains a spirit.

Additional Structures associated with Cairns

Cairns are often accompanied by additional structures. The structures are either natural or man-made. These are not features attached to cairns. They are separate.

Natural features are sometimes encountered. The most common are wetlands, springs, and seasonal spring run-off streambeds.  Split stone in ledge or in boulders and exposed bedrock. Springs are the source of Spring Water Spirit from the Underworld. Split stone is associated with the Underworld Spirit.

Standing stones are elongated stones stood up in an erect position. These standing stones are among the cairns or integrated into a stone wall. These are separate features from the cairn. Some have been documented as being aligned with a solar or lunar event. Standing stones with notches or open L shaped top corners have the potential of being a spirit portal.

The standing stones associated with lunar and solar events function with Moon Spirit and Sun Spirit. Standing stone with notches are spirit portals for spirits to travel from one location to another location. Triangular and rectangular shaped standing stones in stone walls are sometimes used as protection to block out uninvited spirits from a ceremonial area. There are many standing stones whose purpose is unknown.

Fig. 24 - Triangular standing stone with shoulders

Fig. 25 - Rectangular standing stone with center v-notch

Fig. 26 - Open-L or Corner - Notched standing stone

Fig. 27 - rectangular standing stone with slanted top

Solar Alignments are means to work with the Sun Spirit. They are spirit portals to and from Upperworld, plus a calendar timer (i.e. marks summer solstice, winter solstice, or equinox). This type of feature has numerous versions.

Fig. 28 - Summer solstice sunrise standing stone

Enclosures are generally low walled enclosed spaces. They range in size from three feet diameter to twelve feet square, plus. This type of structure comes in single unit and double unit designs. Some have an opening others do not have an opening. One example has a Manitou stone built into its wall. Natural enclosures defined by boulders forming a confined space are occasionally found. One example was determined by a Manitou stone found inside. Boulders arranged in a three or four corner pattern are another form of enclosure. Shapes range from an L shape with two sides, to square and rectangular shaped, and circular shaped. Enclosures can be either free-standing or integrated into stone walls.

The size suggests the small enclosures were used by a single person. The larger size enclosures suggest one to a few people held a ritual or ceremony inside. The enclosures with Manitou stones or spirit portals were sacred places where a spirit was invited inside.

Fig. 29 - Various types of enclosures which have been found in association with cairn groups.

Niches are small stone boxes and sometimes small chambers too small for a person to go inside. Size is the defining factor in what is considered a niche. Niches are an enclosed structures used to place an offering to a spirit. The offering is generally perishable. Occasionally natural niches are found as open cavities underneath a large stone. In these cases, look for a man-made feature nearby to confirm. A few niches and small chambers may also have been storage features to hold sacred objects in between seasonal ceremonies.

(See our separate webpage on niches)

Fig. 30 - Niche

Chambers are rare at cairn sites but are occasionally found. Two types are known: a man-made chamber constructed from stone and small caves modified by man. Chambers were structures with Underworld symbolism. A person entering a chamber enters the Underworld. Spirits are associated with some chambers. Not enough research has been done to know to the full extent of spirit association with chambers.

(See our extensive separate section on stone chambers)

How to Evaluate a Cairn Group (or Cairn Field) and Site Layout

Cairns generally occur in groups called cairn groups or cairn fields.  Cairns fields are made up of cairns, low-walled enclosures (some, not all), various other structures (some, not all) and stone walls (some, not all). A site is often times made up of several cairn fields and/or separate groups of cairns. To evaluate a cairn site there is a three step process. Step 1 is to assess the basic facts. Step 2 is to compare the sizes and designs. Step 3 is reading the site. This entails Interpretation, Pattern Recognition and Layout.

Step 1 - Assess the Basic Facts

Designs
All the same design
Two designs
Mix of designs

Sizes
All small cairns
All medium size cairns
All large and extra-large cairns
Mix of small and large cairns
Mix of small, medium and large cairns

Bases
All on ground cairns
All on base stone cairns
Mix of on ground cairns and on base stone cairns

Specialty, Split-Stone, Marker
How many split-stone cairns?
Does the cairn field have a marker cairn?
Does the cairn field have any specialty cairns?

Cairns with Features
What types of features?
Integrated into what type of cairn design?
How many cairns have features?

Additional Structures
What are the structures?
Which cairn field are the structure(s) located in or near?

Stone Walls
Are there any stone walls?
Do the stone walls enclose a cairn field?
Does any stone wall split up a cairn field?
Are any cairns integrated into the stone walls?

Cairn Groups or Cairn Fields
How many separate cairn groups or fields?
How many groups of cairns within an extended cairn field?
 

Step 2 - Comparison of Designs and Sizes

This is done when there are mixed designs and mixed sizes. It shows ratios between various designs and sizes.

Design & Size Comparison

Determine number of each design
Compare number of each design to each other to see approximate ratios
Examples: a few small on base stone cairns to a large quantity of small on ground cairns;
a marker cairn with a group of cairns; one or more specialty cairns with numerous small on ground cairns.

Determine number of sizes

Compare different size cairns to each other to see approximate ratios
Examples: one large cairn and one medium large cairn; one large cairn and several small cairns.

Step 3 - Reading

“Reading” is the intended as a broad term. Reading allows the researcher to evaluate many aspects of a cairn field at the same time. Included within the reading process are interpretation, layout, and pattern recognition. In some cases, historic sites can be identified. Each of these aspects has importance and use. At any given site one, two, three or even four of the aspects may be present.

Interpretation

Interpretation is subjective but realistic. Evidence of spirit(s) in structures and features can be identified. The spirit helps identify the ceremony that took place. Certain types of cairns can be used to identify shaman ceremonial areas from ordinary people’s ceremonial areas within a site. 

Underworld Spirit – At a placed called Dogtown, a poor historic district with small house foundations in Gloucester, MA there is a cairn site on the same hilltop. The site has two sections one has a cairn field and other has pedestal and perched boulders. The cairn field section consists of a natural split-boulder with stone fill inside the split and around base of boulder. Nearby are several medium-large cairns on the ground. Split-boulders with and without stone fill at cairn sites are spirit portals to the Underworld and indicate the Underworld Spirit took part in the ceremony. At this site, the split-boulder is the main focus, indicating the Underworld Spirit was the main spirit.

Manitou Stone – In Hampstead, NH and part of the adjacent town of Atkinson, NH there are numerous small cairn sites. One site has a small naturally enclosed area the size of an enclosure. In the interior a Manitou Stone was found leaning against a boulder. The Manitou Stone is recognized as a spirit stone. That places an unknown spirit at this cairn site.

Fig. 32 - Manitou stone at a cairn site in Hamnpstead, NH. Outline in yellow for easier identification. Compass in photo for size.

Sun Spirit – In Sandown, NH there is a summer solstice sunset alignment within a cairn site. It is part of a much larger cairn site. The alignment shows the Sun Spirit was involved in the ceremony in some capacity. No sunrise alignment has been found so far so it is unclear if the spirit was invited to the ceremony or if the ceremony was held to assist the spirit.

Fig. 33 - Cairn used along a sight line to a summer solstice sunset. Sun sets over a perched boulder, marked by a yellow box.

Fig. 31 - Split Boulder Cairn at Dogtown Common, Gloucester, MA

Shaman verses Ordinary People’s Cairns – On Manana Island off the coast of Maine there is a cairn site. The island is naturally split into two sections. A small raised section on north end and a large level section on south end. South end has a large spring. In between is a small ravine on the open ocean side (west side). Ravine has a section of exposed ledge. On the ledge is a Native American petroglyph. In the northern section there are a small number of small cairns on base stone. In the southern section there are a large number of medium to medium-large cairns on base stone. On the northern edge of the southern section between the two areas there is a special cairn it has a triangular standing stone leaning against the cairn.

The small cairns on the northern section appear to have been built by individual people. They are above the petroglyph embedded in the ledge on the northern section. This section is separate from the southern section. The petroglyph makes the northern section standout. The small cairns are distinctly different in size from the large cairns in the southern section. The northern section was the shaman’s area. The southern section has a large spring, indicating Spring Water Spirit was present. The fact a spirit was present is reinforced by the triangular standing stone cairn on outer edge of southern cairn field to block out uninvited spirits from entering the area. The large cairns suggest groups of people, who would have been ordinary people or select ordinary people, attended a ceremony with Spring Water Spirit as the main spirit.

This site has a shaman section and an ordinary people’s section. The ordinary people’s section has the main feature where the spirit was present. In this case, it is the spring where water pooled after seeping out of the ground. The main feature being in the ordinary people’s area is the same as at the Gloucester, MA site where everyone gathered around the split-boulder cairn with Underworld Spirit.

Fig. 34 - Layout of cairn groups on Manana Island (Maine)

Some Specific Uses of Cairns from the America’s Stonehenge Site

America’s Stonehenge site is located in southeastern New Hampshire. The site was in use from 3,000 years ago onward up to approximately 1700 A.D. Stone walls started out being used as a feature to place a stone offering to a spirit. Later cairns were introduced, at first just one cairn, as time went on cairns eventually took the place of the stone offering walls.

This is a list of known uses at the site:
a) Offering to Sun Spirit and Underworld Spirit – stone offerings were used to call each spirit to a ceremony. The stone was placed on ground and on bedrock base in the form of stone offering walls and single cairns.
b) Representative of Spirit-of-the-People are two types of cairns: one is a low flat stone with cairn stone on top trailing to ground and second a group of cairns on the ground. Each type of cairn contained the Spirit-of-the-People.
c) Underworld Spirit is represented by two types of cairns: one is a split-stone slab with stone fill in one of two splits and second is a cairn between two boulders that contained the spirit during a ceremony.
 d) Two cairns with triangles were used to block out uninvited spirits from a section of the cairn field.

For more in-depth information on interpreting cairns at this site please read America’s Stonehenge Deciphered. The book has interpretations relative to that particular site with the potential to extrapolate to other cairn sites.

Pattern Recognition

Pattern recognition is the study of looking for aspects of stone structure sites that are repeatedly used, thereby forming patterns. Patterns show up as single cairns with similar traits, groups of same cairn designs, combination of cairn designs, specific cairn designs and stylistic differences. The patterns can be compared within a site, and with other sites within a local geographical area. The patterns can also be used to compare cairn sites from one geographical area to another geographical area.  Below is a short list of examples. They are meant as a guide, many more patterns exist.

Single cairn with similar trait – Stone(s) (one to three) in depression of a large boulder with the boulder placed in the lowest (elevation) part of the cairn field. There is one of these cairns per cairn field. This type of cairn occurs in Merrimac, MA and Newton, NH two towns adjacent to each other. The depression and low placement are the common factors that create a link between each cairn field. The usage is local.

Groups of same cairn design – On Manana Island off the coast of Maine every cairn in the large cairn field has a stone base. At a site in E. Kingston, NH every cairn in the large cairn field was built on the ground. This shows local geographical preferences for the base of the ordinary people’s cairns.

Combination of cairn designs – At the South Road Site in E. Kingston, NH there is a large cairn on the ground and next to it is a medium-large cairn on the ground.

Specific cairn design – Large corner wall cairns have been found at Miner Farm, Hopkinton, RI and Dulac Land Trust, Sanbornton, NH. Large corner wall cairns are intermittent throughout the northeast and tend to be found in some geographical areas and not in other geographical areas.

Stylistic differences – These examples focus on cairns with a few stones on a base stone. Holliston, MA has a few stones piled up near edge of boulder. Sandown, NH has a few stones placed in a single layer in middle of boulder. The stylistic differences distinguish preferences in different geographical areas.

Pattern recognition is used to distinguish patterns at cairn sites. It is used on the local and regional levels. Specific patterns can be tracked. At present (2006), it is useful to see pattern diffusion. Pattern recognition extends beyond the above examples. See Specialized Stones added as Features to Cairns. The specialized features can also be tracked.

Repeated Use of Ceremonial Sites tracked through pattern recognition

Some ceremonial sites show evidence of the main ceremony having been revised and reconfigured two or more times. The evidence is in structures such as enclosures and chambers that were built and later replaced by newer enclosures and chambers.

Fig. 35 - Layout of Enclosures at Newbury, MA Site

Burns Wildlife Management Area in Newbury, MA is a cairn site with enclosures from three different periods. The enclosures are the main focus here. The site was created over a large area of rock strewn land divided between wetlands and dry lands. The land surface undulates with low mounded areas that create high spots alternating with low areas. Five of the enclosures were located on the lowest dry land on the site and one is on high ground. The simplest enclosure is #1 a large rectangle laid out on the ground with single layer of stones. It is at the base of the highest land a short hill. At the top edge of hill is enclosure #2. It is just below the top, small and semi-rounded. The side of hill acts as the back of the enclosure. Across from enclosures #1 and #2 is a walled in area with numerous cairns. On the opposite side of hill is a second area with four enclosures. #3 is a single enclosure attached to a stone wall. Beside this enclosure is a cairn. #4 is a double enclosure attached to the same stone wall further along it. Section A of this enclosure is a simple rectangular shaped low wall. Section B has an ex-large boulder and a Manitou Spirit Stone integrated in its wall system. A cairn is next to the enclosure. Enclosures #3 and #4 (A&B) are each approximately the same size. #5 is a small single enclosure attached to the end of an elongated low outcrop. Enclosure #6 was in the process of being built up against a second outcrop but along its elongated side. It was to be a large enclosure. This outcrop has a split filled with small stone, a split-stone cairn.

Patterns are found within the six enclosures. Enclosure #1 is free-standing. Enclosure #2 is attached to hillside. The two enclosures are on the same side of hill and form a pair of one large and one small. Enclosure #3 is attached to a stone wall. Enclosure #4 is attached to the same stone wall and to an ex-large boulder in its back wall. Each of these two enclosures has a cairn next to it. Enclosure #5 is small and attached to an outcrop. Enclosure #6 is large and attached to an outcrop. In each group is a pair of enclosures of which at least one has a back wall with an outcrop, large boulder or hillside. The back is not a simple stone wall. Two pairs have a large and small enclosure.

Sequencing the pairs of enclosures. The first set is enclosure #1 a simple unattached structure and enclosure #2 attached to the hillside. The second set is enclosure #3 and #4 attached to the same stone wall. In addition enclosure #4 is attached to an ex-large boulder. The third set is enclosure #5 and enclosure #6, both attached to outcrops. The sequence shows a progression from hillside to boulder to outcrop for the back wall of the enclosure.

The three pairs of enclosures show the same ceremony was slightly re-configured twice since the original. This means there were three versions of the same ceremony. It indicates this was a permanent site and a long term site.

Layout

Layout is used to see how a site is organized. It utilizes pattern recognition and expands on it by looking at the cairn site as a ceremonial area. Some ceremonial areas have a single area others are made up of several sections each with its own purpose.

Single Area Ceremonial Site

In the Rowley State Forest located in Georgetown, MA there is a cairn field with mixed cairn designs. The cairns are within a single area. There are several large on ground cairns with one standing out because of its conical shape and 5-6 feet height. The other on ground cairns have low heights. There are several cairns on base stones. These range from small to medium-large in size. The cairn field is located on an old house and small farm site. This is common in northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire.

There are no natural or man-made features to indicate what ceremony took place here. The large cairns indicate ordinary people participated and the small cairns indicate shamans participated. The large and small cairns are mixed indicating activity of different types took place within the same area. This was probably a once a year ceremony that repeatedly took place each year. The size of the large cairns suggest many years.

Multi-Area Ceremonial Sites

Two Parts

a) On Manana Island off the coast of Maine there is a good example of a two part ceremonial area. It was discussed under Interpretations – Shamans Verses Ordinary People’s Cairns. The north end of island is raised and has a smaller area of land than the south end with a large level area. This natural layout naturally separated the island into two sections. The small north end was utilized by shamans who built small cairns on base stones. The large south end had many surface boulders which were utilized by ordinary people to build medium and medium-large cairns on base stones. Ordinary people needed leaders so it is thought shamans participated and led the main ceremony on the south end. The two areas worked in unison with each other for the overall ceremony.

A natural spring on the south end indicates the Spring Water Spirit was the main focus of the ceremony. There are a large number of cairns on the ordinary people’s side. The actual number was not recorded because the island has not been mapped yet. However, the large number of cairns suggests the Native Americans visited the island over a long period of many years.

Fig. 36 - Hampstead NH Site Layout

b) In Hampstead, NH’s Town Forest there are numerous small cairn fields. Each cairn field has its own characteristics. Within the greater area there is a set of two cairn fields that work in unison with each other. Each area is confined within stone walls that are adjacent but clearly separate from each other. Area B has one split-stone cairn, a standing stone in the stone wall near entrance that stands slightly above the wall, and a standing stone slab three feet high with a V notch in another stone wall enclosing the area. The rest of the area is now wooded land primarily without surface stones. Area A has five split-stone cairns, two small cairns on base stones, several boulders without cairns, two on ground cairns with a piece of white quartz on top, and a specialized structure. Two of the split-stone cairns appear to have slabs pried apart to create these two split-stone cairns. One of the split-stone cairns has five stones on top of one side and no fill in the split. One split-stone cairn is exposed bedrock with splits and small stones placed in a single layer on top with the splits left open. The other split-stone cairn is a large split boulder with a large quantity of stone fill.  The specialized structure is an unusual niche and spirit portal. A large barrel shaped boulder was separated from its base and laid on its side on top of a layer of stone paving. Under one end of the boulder the earth was scooped out to create a depression with an open space creating a niche and Underworld spirit portal. The niche faces the standing stone V notched spirit portal in stone wall dividing area A and area B.

The Underworld Spirit was called forth from the niche/spirit portal and directed over to the V notch spirit portal in the dividing wall. The V notched spirit portal allowed the Underworld Spirit to enter area B. Inside area B a ceremony was held. To contain the Underworld Spirit or to keep uninvited spirits from entering the ceremonial area there is a standing stone in the stone wall near the people’s entrance. After the ceremony the Underworld Spirit may have returned to the Underworld via one of the two split-stone cairns with open splits in area A.

Area A and area B are situated in a section of the forest with other groups of cairns nearby. The two areas are isolated due to being boxed-in by walls and the features that connect them together.

Fig. 37 - South Road, East Kingston NH Site Layout

Three Parts
 
On South Road in East Kingston, NH there is a cairn site with three separate areas.

Area A has a cairn on a boulder with a few stones. Next to it is an early 20th century galvanized metal pail offering.  In a seasonal stream within the area there is a streambed cairn 15 feet long. It is associated with springtime snow meltdown and springtime rains, with seasonal water flowage. Water with a cairn is representative of Water Spirit. Near the streambed cairn is a split-stone (stone with deep V notch) and a triangular stone on top. Triangular stone was used to block-out uninvited spirits. Split was used as a spirit portal with an exit or entrance to the Underworld. A short distance from the streambed cairn is a large on ground cairn 10 feet long. In the cairn’s top is a depression. Depressions in cairns are a feature found at many sites, it another type of spirit portal to the Underworld.

Area B has one on stone cairn with a single layer of stones on top. The area has an ex-large cairn twenty-four feet long. In the top is a deep shaft-like depression, a spirit portal to the Underworld. Nearby is a second on ground cairn five feet diameter, a medium sized cairn.

Area C has one on stone cairn with a single layer of stones. In this area there are fourteen on ground cairns (small and medium) spread out over two walled-in fields. Of the fourteen two stand out. One is a five to six feet diameter mounded cairn with a depression in the top. Second is a five foot diameter mounded cairn. The other twelve cairns are low to the ground.

Areas A, B & C all have a single on stone cairn. Areas A and B have a large cairn with a depression. Area C has a medium sized cairn with a depression. The single on stone cairn and single cairn with a depression in each area form patterns that create links between all three areas and the builders.  Area A has a streambed cairn and split-stone cairn which area B does not have. This creates a difference between the areas A and B. Area C has a medium sized cairn with a depression and numerous other on ground cairns. Areas A and B each have a large sized cairn with a depression and one other on ground cairn. This creates a difference between areas A and B, and area C.

What does it all mean? Area A was probably the original ceremonial site. The streambed cairn has the Water Spirit and large cairn on ground has the Underworld Spirit. The two spirits created balance. But something occurred and this area was abandoned probably a drought, because in area B there is no streambed cairn. Area B has an ex-large on ground cairn with a depression placing the Underworld Spirit at the ceremony. This downgrades the second stage of the ceremony to a single spirit. Areas A & B lack numerous on ground cairns which makes them similar to each other.  Area C has a medium size on ground cairn with a depression and numerous on ground cairns. That makes area C different from areas A and B with only two on ground cairns. This indicates a third stage to the ceremony. However, area C is like area B in that it only has the Underworld Spirit.

This is a site where the original main ceremony was modified. With each modification the ceremony was moved to another section within the wetlands area. Each move created the need to build a new ceremonial area to replace the former ceremonial area. The original ceremony had two spirits Water Spirit and Underworld Spirit. In the second stage the Underworld Spirit and its part of the ceremony are retained, and Water Spirit with its part of the ceremony is abandoned. In the third stage, Underworld Spirit and its ceremony are retained but a change has occurred in the social culture. Instead of one large or ex-large cairn where everyone contributed a stone offering to a spirit, now only a select few people do so. Instead, numerous individual cairns show up. The purpose of these individual cairns is unknown. Throughout the entire life of this site the Underworld Spirit was present. In the original stage Underworld Spirit shared the ceremony with Water Spirit. In stages two and three Underworld Spirit is the only spirit making it the dominant spirit.

The shift from everyone making a direct offering to the spirit who was present, to a select few people is reflective of the culture at contact and during the historic period.

Fig. 38 - Rte 107A, East Kingston NH Site Layout

Four Parts

A good example of this type of cairn site is a Historic Site in East Kingston, NH. It is a cairn site with multiple parts. It is representative of much larger sites with multi-parts found in southeastern parts of New England.

The ceremonial area is on a farm and is located at the top of a hill out of sight and hearing of the two roads that border the farm’s buildings at bottom of hill. The site is made up of four areas.

Area A has forty-three small cairns on the ground all similar in size. This suggests a repetitive activity possibly the building of one cairn per year when the people gathered for a ceremony. If that is correct, then a yearly ceremony was held at the site over a forty-three year period.

Area B has two split-stones. One is a man-made split-stone that is open (does not have stone fill in split). Across from this open split-stone which is an Underworld spirit portal is a cairn attached to the stone wall that divides area A and area B. Single cairns in close proximity to spirit portals are known to have been used to place a stone offering to call forth a spirit, in this case it would have been the Underworld Spirit. The second is a naturally split-stone in another area of the field that was partially filled with small stones. It may have been used to contain Underworld Spirit during the ceremony.

Area C has two sets of low-wall enclosures. Each set has two enclosures. One set is small and used by a single person. The other set is larger and could have been used by several people at the same time. These sets of enclosures were used for preparation ceremonies. 
There were two spirits associated with this site. The second spirit comes from area D. It is thought each spirit had a set (one large and one small) of enclosures in which preparations took place prior to the main ceremony.

Area D has three different cairns. 1) A few stones on a large, high boulder. 2) A small mound of stones next to a boulder. 3) Stones on top of boulder trailing to the ground. Nearby is a well with spring water. The spring water contained Spring Water Spirit, the second spirit at the site.

Each of the four areas functioned in conjunction with each other. Three are attached to each other via stone walls that divide them. Each area had its own ceremony or ritual. There are two spirits. Two spirits made the site balanced. Ordinary people and shaman gathered once a year to hold a main ceremony with Underworld Spirit and Spring Water Spirit.

Note: The above selections of layouts are examples of what is found at cairn field sites. The examples were used to show how different combinations were arranged. The study of cairn field sites should not be limited to the examples shown as there are other variations.

Historic

There is evidence to suggest old farms in local areas supported ceremonial activity involving cairns in historic times. In E. Kingston, NH there is a single farm. In Hampstead, NH there are several local farms linked by an old road. This appears to have been a small community.

Example #1 – Single farm on Route 107A in E. Kingston, NH

The age of this site was identified by a boulder that was split using the round hole, pin & feather method and left in place with a cairn across from it. The cairn was attached to a stone wall dividing two small fields. In the adjacent field, are numerous small cairns on the ground. The hillside and low areas of this farm do not have cairns.

The particular version of the pin & feather method used was developed in the early 1800’s and stayed in use up to 1900 on farms. The farm it was found on has other split boulders split by the same method and used in the boundary stone walls. For a complete discussion of this site see Four Parts under Layout.

Fig. 39 - Boulder split with plug & feather method and used for ceremonial purposes

Example #2 – Multiple farms in Hampstead, NH

An old dirt road in Hampstead, NH is lined with stone walls. The stone walls are remnants left behind from the farms that once existed along the road. The layout of one of the old farms can still be seen as all the old foundations and walls are intact. This farm has several old fields with cairns. One section has several split boulders all filled with small stones. Another field has a corner with a diagonal wall that was being filled with stone. This was a corner-wall cairn. On neighboring farms there are several more corner-wall cairns in completed stages. At one farm there are a few metal pots with rusted bottoms on the ground in a small grouping. The pots date to the late 1800’s or early 1900’s. No other items. This is not a trash pile. Trash piles have numerous items, always a mix of different objects from broken bottles, pieces of leather straps, horse shoes, metal pots, ceramic jugs, etc. that are dumped creating piles with scattered edges.

The old farms were all in the immediate area of each other. Three or four farms were involved. Each farm had cairns. The one farm that is still intact had the most extensive site with several sections of cairns and mixed types of cairns. The evidence suggests a small community of Native American farmers once owned these farms and held ceremonies where they built cairns.

Why Build Here?

A frequently asked question is “Why was this piece of land chosen for a cairn site?” The sites highlighted in this article begin to answer the question. Hampstead, NH’s Town Forest site required several split-stones in one area and a single split-stone in an adjacent area on open land without other stones. E. Kingston, NH’s South Road site required a wetlands seasonal streambed with adjacent dry land. Newbury, MA’s site required several parcels of land with varied levels close to each other to set up adjacent ceremonial areas. In addition the land had to have a sufficient number of boulders above ground for long term use in building cairns. High land was needed for cairn fields and low land for enclosures. E. Kingston, NH’s mid-1800’s, route 107A site required it be on a farm property and to have two split-stones. There was one natural split-stone the second split-stone was created by splitting a whole boulder into two pieces thereby altering a natural feature to fit the needs of the ceremony and site. Cairn “ceremonial” sites had specific needs according to the type of ceremony and the preferences of the builders. At E. Kingston, NH’s route 107A site a field without boulders was sought after. The complete reverse is Manana Island off the coast of Maine which was chosen because of its well spaced, abundant, surface stones.

Sometimes a site was chosen because of a natural event that occurred at the place. At America’s Stonehenge in North Salem, NH a chance encounter with a rain storm was the deciding factor. During the rain storm, rain water flowed over a ledge in a short waterfall down into a quartz crystal geode. The Native American’s viewed the event as Rain Water Spirit of Upperworld coming into contact with Crystal Spirit of Underworld. In this act, the two spirits co-mingled and were released. Based upon the natural event, the Native Americans created a formal ceremony to recreate the event on a yearly basis.

Why a piece of land was chosen for a cairn site varies. The evaluation process generally will reveal the why. The why could be useful in tracking patterns like those found at Newbury, MA where the builders had a preference for high land for cairns and low land for enclosures. Any aspect of evaluation that can used to track patterns is useful.

Age of Cairns

With the exception of a few rare cairns with datable material and those cairns at America’s Stonehenge associated with specific dated ceremonial areas, cairns are not datable at present.

The oldest recorded cairn is 5,000 years old. It was found at Sewall’s Falls in Concord, NH. The most recently created cairns are currently built memorial cairns in use today (ref. 103).

There is limited evidence suggesting the heaviest use of cairns dates between 1000 A.D. and 1900 A.D. At Freetown, MA a cairn field with four hundred cairns was destroyed when Route 495 was built. Before the highway destruction one cairn was chosen for excavation by James Mavor and Bryon Dix. This cairn was special in that it contained a Manitou standing stone, a large deposit of red ochre with 120 pieces weighing ten pounds and two separate deposits of charcoal. The charcoal deposits were dated to 875 +/- 160 and 790 +/- 150 years before present (ref. 101). The charcoal deposits are eighty five years apart in time. That suggests the cairn site was used for a long period of time. Historic accounts from the 1600’s and 1700’s show Native Americans using cairns (ref. 300, 301, 302, 305, 501, 502, 505, 507, 508, 510, 511). The cairn site in E. Kingston, NH on Route 107A with a post 1800 split boulder and the farm sites in Hampstead, NH show historically cairns were a favored ceremonial structure. Circa 1920 the Pan American Indian movement introduces Powwows and cultural ideas from tribes in Western U.S.). The Pan American Indian movement shows up as the eastern use of cairns and associated ceremonies appears to be fading out.

Conclusion

Assessing a cairn site from numerous different points of view is invaluable. The assessment reveals patterns. Patterns are useful in identifying specific types of features and tracking features between sites. Identifying features such as solar alignments, split-stones, water ways, etc. aids in figuring out what spirits were associated with the ceremony(s). In addition patterns occasionally assist in sequencing a site. Evaluating a cairn site is in essence the identification of patterns.
 
What do those patterns tell us? Cairn sites are permanent ceremonial sites. They are places where ordinary people (select ordinary people and/or all the ordinary people) and shamans came to hold ceremonies. In the ceremonies the people interacted with specific spirits and/or assisted specific spirits in traveling between Upperworld and Underworld.  Some ceremonial sites have chambers and cairns, more common are sites with enclosures and cairns, and some sites have all cairns and no other structures. No two ceremonial sites are identical. However, most ceremonial sites have similar characteristics that repeatedly show up. The characteristics form patterns that can be tracked just like different types of projectile points.

Ceremonies at cairn sites and chamber sites (footnote) appear to fall into three basic categories: 1) solar and lunar events; 2) Underworld related; 3) water related. One to three seasonal ceremonies took place depending upon the ceremonial site. Each ceremony was a once a year event. This is evidenced by the solar events and natural occurrences such as springtime water runoffs in seasonal streambeds. Number of main spirits per ceremony varied from one to two. Number of supporting spirits per ceremony was unlimited in theory. Supporting spirits were generally paired with a main spirit to create two spirits for balance. Therefore there is generally a limited number of supporting spirits per ceremony.

A very high ratio of cairn and chamber sites has evidence of an Underworld presence. Some like Gloucester, MA’s site are completely dedicated to the Underworld Spirit. Many sites combined two main spirits: 1) Water Spirit & Underworld Spirit; 2) Sun Spirit & Underworld Spirit.

Cairn and chamber sites probably made up a small percentage of the ceremonies held by New England’s Native Americans. This is suggested by Roger Williams A Key into the Language of America: or An help to the Language of the Natives in that part of America, called New England in which he lists eleven different ceremonies under Dance & Feasts.

Research by the author currently indicates there was common knowledge of specific shapes, colors and designs with specific meanings and purposes in the northeastern United States among the many groups of Native Americans. This common knowledge underlies regional variations. Each geographical region had its own stylistic versions and preferences. These differences reflect where the emphasis was placed when it came to individual ceremonies. This work has just begun. There is much to be learned from studying cairn sites and other stone structure sites using above ground archaeology methods.

Footnote: Chamber sites have been included with cairn sites in the conclusion as the two types of stone structures sometimes occur together. Although this article is about cairn sites, chamber sites are places where similar ceremonies were held.

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