Episode 17- Split Stone Cairns. Nexus between Spirit Worlds in Ancient Native New England Culture

​‪@Stones_and_Stories‬ Split Stone Cairns or Split Boulder Cairns played a critical role in indigenous spiritualism in New England. Throught the deciphering the "Stonehenge of Americas" in Salem NH, the study of the network of ceremonial structures has supplied a working theory of the role many structures played in ritual ceremony.

The split stone cairn, rocks placed between two boulders or larger stones, seemed to play a connective role to the lower spiritual world. While there are many more secrets to unpack in the ancient american landscape, one this is increasingly clear. Split stone cairns, in conjunction with portals like niches, depressions and open gaps in walls were the pathway in ritual beliefs. In particular, this is where spirits like the Sun and Water Spirits were believed to pass to and from the underworld at the Winter Soltice and Spring Equinox.

This series is dedicated to creating awareness of the vast number of ancient ceremonial structures in Gilbert Hills State Forest, Foxboro MA.

References and sources used in this episode

Split stone cairn definition: Handbook of Stone Structures in Northeast United States, Mary Gage p. 202-206.

Split stone cairns as a community offering: Manitou, Mavor & Dix, 1989, p.105

The context of stone structures in the belief system of ancient Northeastern Native Americans:
“In the Indian way, all of these stones which we have described, whether piles and placed boulders, split rock, or outcropping ledges, have spirits, as do the plants and animals and the forces of water, wind, and heat and cold which form the landscape. The Great Spirit is all of the things taken together and is the land, sea and sky. The Native American tries to sense the world through the perception of the Great Spirit, and the shaman does it more completely than most. The stones help in this endeavor, and the luminous, glowing forms manifested by the earthquake activity would have reinforced the native’s concept of manitou.” Manitou, Mavor & Dix, 1989 p.271

Split stone cairns and relation to underworld: Split Stones and the Underworld, Mary Gage, 2022 p.6-16

Sunrise alignment stone at Stonehenge of the Americas, Salem, NH: America’s Stonehenge Deciphered, Mary Gage, 2006 p.128


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