INTRODUCTION

They used, as they went by the way, to cast stones on the highways, on the hills and tops of mountains, and these are called apachetas. These are piles of stone which are built up at every mountain pass; they carry the stone for a little way before arriving, [then] deposit the stone at the apacheta and leave their tiredness behind.
-Pedro de Cieza de Leon, 1553

At scattered places throughout the inhabited world, there exist piles of stones next to trails where, presently or in the past, travelers would add a stone and/or other object in passing, with a prayer for luck, protection, elimination of fatigue, or the like (e.g., Frazer, 1913: 8-30). The practice was widespread among native peoples of southwestern and northeastern North America (Jett, 1986; 1994; n.d.a; n.d.b). In present-day Latin America, cairn wayside shrines have been reported from the Central Andean region (Bowman, 1924: 282; Tschopik, 1944: 560); from Middle America, and throughout the western Mexican cordillera (Rogers, 1945: 183). In the Sierra Pinacate of the Sonoran Desert, where preservation is good and dating possible, such landscape features date back to before 15,000 B. C. (Hayden, 1976: 282-287), but elsewhere dating is either not ordinarily feasible or has not been attempted.

Use as shrines is only one of a number of functions that cairns may have, including as non-trail shrines, burial sites, trail and boundary markers, field-stone clearance piles, and so forth. Although sometimes blending with these other functions, trail-shrine use is, nevertheless, distinctive, and beliefs and practices concerning such shrines are remarkably uniform in the New World and beyond. Although significant information on these structures exists in the published literature for some groups, even cairn shrines' presence is not mentioned for many of the cultures that utilize them. In this paper, I present what I have gleaned from an admittedly incomplete literature survey, concentrating on the Central Andean area but also including other parts of Meso- and South America as well (omitting northern Mexico for separate consideration (Jett, n.d.a). In this endeavor, I have been much aided by Daniel W. Gade, who suggested a number of sources of information on South America. I have used observations by both professional ethnographers and archaeologists on the one hand, and by observant but non-specialist travelers and missionaries on the other. Observations by the former are probably reliable but do not always include all the kinds of data desired for this study. Descriptions by the latter may be less precise (although they strike me as generally accurate), and interpretations may need to be taken with caution. [end p. 1]

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Despite frequent mention of cairn trail shrines in the literature, few sources provide much in the way of physical description. The natural, unshaped stones (or, occasionally, pebbles) appear usually to be from the immediate area (Costas, 1967: 52) but are sometimes carried a certain distance (Hagen, 1959; Sallnow, 1987: 189). Since these monuments are not built of a piece but are incremental accumulations in which the stone is usually laid or tossed onto the heap rather than placed according to a structural plan, the stone piles tend to be loose, and conical or rounded, the slopes of their sides limited by the angle of repose. Their size depends upon 1) the dimensions of the stones-"ranging in size from small nuggets to those the size of the human hand" (Hagen, 1955: 67; also, Hagen, 1961: 544; Linda Schele, personal comm., 1991); 2) the age of the shrine, and 3) the frequency of travel on the route. I have the impression that height and diameter tend to be fairly similar in magnitude. In Guayana, Brown (1877: 276) observed three-to-four-foot-high cairn shrines. But "Each traveler adds a stone for good luck, and thus some of them on the oldest trails [in Northwestern Argentina and northern Chile] have grown to quite large size ... " (Bowman, 1924: 282). "And there were great piles of these offerings on the top of the slopes" in Peru (Garcilaso 1966: 78). "On important routes [in the Central Andes] these piles may become gigantic because over the centuries vast numbers of stones accumulate" (Hyslop, 1984: 309, also Karsten, 1926: 346). In northeastern Argentina, NordenskiOld (1903: 518) "once tried to calculate the stones in such a heap, and found there were more than 50,000."

Rarely, a larger, in-situ rock is used as a nucleus for the cairn, as in Nicaragua (Oviedo, 1840: 42-43) and the Central Andes (Vivante, 1952 and Regal, 1936: 17-20, after Tschudi, 1846: 77-78 and others; Frazer, 1913: 9), a practice also recorded for the Sonoran Desert and elsewhere (lett n. d. a). Normally, however, apachetas appear to have been begun as a handful of stones that a llama packman or messenger

....who had rested there for a moment, deposited at the roadside, as a tribute of gratitude, paid ostensibly to Pachacamac the Creator and Lord of the Universe. Days and even months might roll on before a second Indian ny chance passingm the same place, and seeing the stones collected by his predecessor, adds a few to the heap. In time the handful of stones becomes a pyramid of from eight to ten feet [2.4 to 3.0 meters] in height, which the passers-by, as it increases in size, cement with mud if it happens to be a rainy day. (Marcoy, 1872: 118)

EVIDENCE OF AGE
Very little archaeological investigation of cairn trail shrines has been undertaken in the regions under discussion, and I know of no pre-nineteenth-century evidence bearing on their antiquity in Mesoamerica (although they are proven to be extremely ancient in Sonora). These shrines are clearly pre-Columbian in the Central Andes, however. The Spaniard Villagomes considered them to be ancient in the Archbishopric of Lima (Vivante, 1952: 38). Both Hagen (1955: 67) and the Inka Road Project found cairn trail shrines associated with Inca roads. The rough correspondence of their distribution to the extent of the Inca Empire (Figure 1) suggested to Hyslop (1984: 311) that the early seventeenth century Kichwa Pachacuti Yamqui may have been correct in [end p. 2] thinking the shrines an Inca invention. However, none of thehundreds found in the Andes have been investigated in detail, and they may well predate the Inca regime, and very likely do, in view of their occurence and antiquity elsewhere. In the way of historica accounts, the earleist seem to be from the second half of the sixteenth century (Jijón, 1919: 175-176; Hyslop, 1984: 310; Costas, 1967: 50; Arriaga, 1968: 59; Hagen, 1959).

LOCATIONS
Associated with travel as they are, the shrines under discussion are normally found alongside roads or trails. However, their distribution does not otherwise appear to be at all random, certain locations being strongly favored. The most common situation is at the top of a long, steep climb, often in a pass. Among the Chocho of Central Mexico, a shrine was described at the summit of a trail (Starr, 1908: 218). "[S]uch piles are found where trails cross mountain passes in Guatemala" (Ellis, 1969: 174 ) -on "all the roads," Brasseur de Bourbourg (1857-59-II: 564, III:486) added, at trail forks, on mountain and cliff tops, and in passes. Passes are mentioned for the Gran Chaco (Nordenskiöld, 1913: 314). High passes, including at valley heads and at spur crests, are the typical sites in the Andes as well (Bowman, 1924: 282; Nordenskiöld, 1903: 518; Tschopik, 1944: 560; Costas, 1967: 52 [citing other sources]; Vivante, 1952; Regal, 1936: 17-20, after Tschudi, 1846: 77-78; Bastien, 1978: 4; Daniel Gade, personal communication, 1979; Hagen, 1955: 67; James Kus, personal communication, 1979). Cieza de Leon, writing around the middle of the sixteenth century, spoke of travelers depositing stones on "hilltop" apachetas-cairn trail shrines (Hagen, 1959; also, Casanova, 1946: 628), noting that they were found at the tops of slopes or in passes (Costas, 1967: 50). Hagen (1955: 67) wrote of "stone propitiatory cairns ... at frequent intervals along the way ... on the highest passes of the road ... in the high mountain areas ... [They] are built up in every mountain pass and crossroad" (also, Cobo 1990: 44, 116) Karsten, 1926: 344, 345-46; Bandlier, 1910: 15). Sallnow (1987: 189) spoke of one "at the top of a steep scree." According to Tschopik (1944: 560), "Cairns (apacheta) are ... placed on high mountain passes or where roads cross barren pampas." Crossroads mentioned for Guatemala, above), including on plains in the Andes (Vivante, 1952; Regal, 1936; Nordenskiöld, 1903: 518; Hagen, 1955: 67; Costas, 1967: 52-53; Casanova, 1946: 628).

The Inka Road Project determined that cairn shrines along Inca (thus, pre-Columbian) roads "tend to be located not just at high points ... but where there is some truly monumental ascent or descent that might take a traveler a day or two. Thus ... big apacheta tend to be located more frequently on the edges of the Andes, where the mountains descend toward the lowlands to the east or west." The Project found no apachetas below 3,200 meters' elevation (Hyslop, 1984: 311 and passim). Of course, high places had special sanctity in Inca religion, and this could have been a contributing locational factor (but see "Functions," below).

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION AND ETHNIC AFFILIATION

Mesoamerica
Although Ralph Beals (1932: 127,212) observed that the distribution of trail shrines appeared to be western in Mexico and unrelated to the Central Mexican cultural complex (see Jett, n. d. a), at least one occurrence has been reported from the Mexican culture region, among the Chocho of the border area between Puebla, Oaxaca, and Veracruz (Starr, 1908: 218).

I have not found clear evidence for trail shrines in southern Mexico. Gillett Griffin (personal communication, 1979) observed a pile of pre-Columbian architectural and sculptural fragments near a path at Uxmal, Yucatan. Tin cans containing a fatty substance had been left as offerings, but whether use of this Yucatecan Maya shrine related to travel or to the pathway was not determined. Speaking of the Maya country of Guatemala and Honduras (specifically, of the Copan Valley) Linda Schele (personal communication, 1991) considered trail shrines to be ubiquitous.

Rogers (1945: 183) cited Squier (1853: 358) as describing trail shrines in Central America. In the mid-nineteenth century, Brasseur (1857-59-II: 564, III:486), later echoed by Ellis (1969: 174), described cairns on "all the roads" in Guatemala. The seventeenth-century chronicler Gonzalo Fernández [end p. 3]Oviedo y Valdes (1840:42-43) also reported trail-shrine use in Nicaragua (cited in Frazer, 1913: 9; Vivante, 1952: 38).

South America
Cairn-trail-shrine use in South America is very similar to, but generally more elaborate than, that described in the meager literature for Mesoamerica. Such shrines are widespread in western South America, including among the Kichwa- and Aymara-speaking peoples (Figure 1). Bowman (1924: 282) reported them in northern Chile and Peru, as did Nordenskibld (1903: 518) for northern and northeastern Argentina and Tschopik (1946: 560) and Costas (1967: 52 [citing others]) for the Bolivian Aymara region (see also: Vivante, 1952; Regal, 1936: 17-20, after Tschudi, 1846: 77-78). "This custom [of placing rough stones] is still general throughout the Andes on trails where the Indians travel on foot, and the ancient huacas [shrines] are being constantly augmented" (Rowe, 1946: 297). Principal compilations of sources include Costas (1967: 52), Vivante (1952), Regal (1936: 17-20), and Frazer (1913: 9, 26-27). Specific areas of occurrence mentioned include the Peruvian provinces of Cuzco (Bastien, 1978: 4; Sallnow, 1987: 189, 190), Puno (Daniel Gade, personal communication, 1979), including near Umachiri (Marcoy, 1872: 118, 119), the Cordillera Carabaya region (Bastien, 1978: 4; Hagen, 1955: 67), and in Ancash, between valleys on the North Coast (James Kus, personal communication, 1979), the region of Yamparaez, in the Kichwa zone of Bolivia (Costas, 1967: 52-53), and on the northwestern Argentinian puna (Casanova, 1946: 628). The Inka Road Project found apachetas associated with Inca roads in the Nudo de Azuay, Ecuador, Salta Province in Argentina, and Cochabamba Province, Bolivia (Hyslop, 1984: 311). According to the early-seventeenth-century chronicler Felipe Guamán Pomo de Ayala (1968: 236), the Inca Tupac Yupanqui ordered Indians to worship Pachacamac, creator of the universe, by placing rocks or other offerings on apachetas.

Such shrines are also reported for the hills of Uruguay (Imbelloni et aI., 1959: 260-261; Hyslop, 1984: 180,311). Nordenskiold (1913: 314) noted that in the Gran Chaco, Indians crossing a pass would place a stone on the ground.

I have not encountered reports of cairn trail shrines for elsewhere in South America except for the "Cotinga" district of Guiana (Rio Cotingo area, Brazil, bordering Guyana?). Brown (1877: 276) observed stone heaps, to which each passing Indian added a rock, though they would not say why. Further literature search and communication with researchers may reveal reports for areas yet undocumented, although I have found that the features often go unmentioned in the published literature despite their presence. One may note, on the other hand, that some large areas-such as the Amazonian alluvial plains--do not afford stones for shrine-building (although by analogy to certain other stoneless regions, boughs or pieces of wood could substitute).

OFFERINGS AND RITUALS
The usual basic offering placed on cairn trail shrines is a stone, from nearby or carried to the site from a distance. For instance, Linda Schele (personal comm., 1991) spoke of the Maya traveler picking up a rock a little bigger than fist-sized at the bottom of a slope and depositing it on the shrine at the top. However, many other kinds of offerings have also been recorded. In Guatemala, Brasseur (1857-59, III: 486) listed grass, cotton, salt, cacao, and chili pepper. For Nicaragua, Oviedo (1840: 42-43) wrote of plants (hierbas). Among the Bolivian Aymara, according to Tschopik, "The offering is usually simple ... but when a large party is traveling the sacrifice may be more elaborate." (1944: 560). Garcilaso (1966: 78), writing around the end of the sixteenth century, listed the following offerings, in order of preference: an eyebrow hair (blown toward the sky), coca from the mouth, or-if nothing better could be found-a stick or some straws, or--if even these were not nearby--a pebble, or, if none, a fistful of earth. Eyebrow and eyelash hairs, chewed coca or maize, toasted maize or other food, sandals or shoes, strips tom from clothing or colored yarn from one's poncho, a sling or a piece of a sling, feathers, rope, little bundles of straw, flowers (sometimes from distant areas), and plucked branches are mentioned by various sources for Peru (cited in Vivante, 1952; Regal, 1936: 17-20, after Tschudi, 1846: 77-78; Costas, 1967: 50, 52; Arriaga, 1968: 59; Guamán, 1980: 236; Bandelier 1910: 99; Marcoy, 1872: 118). [end p.4]

In northern and northeastern Argentina, besides cairns, "In some passes there are small squares of stone erected, into which the Indians throw their coca quids ... Twigs ornamented with red tassels are also stuck into these heaps of stones, and domestic animals are adorned with similar twigs in honor of Pachamama" (Nordenskiöld, 1903: 518). "Mestizos of modem times are accustomed to add, in the spirit of mischief, the bones of mules or horses which succumbed on the grade" (Regal, 1936: 17-18; my translation). Other modem offerings include stone beads, cigarettes, liquor bottles, and candles (Costas, 1967: 52-53).

Hagen (1961: 544) called these cairns "propitiatory." "Our Indians as they passed now reverently added their stones ... an act of homage" (Hagen, 1955: 67). In Peru and Bolivia, apachetas are associated with the creator god Pachacamac (Garcilaso, 1966: 78; Guamán, 1980: 236; Marcoy, 1872: 118) and with Pachamama, the Earth Mother (literally, "Mountain Mother" or "Place Mother"), to whom the offerings are made (Costas, 1967: 52).

As indicated by Garcilaso (1966: 78), coca leaves and quids are common offerings in the Central Andes, as is tobacco and chewed maize. Sometimes, one spits on the pile or the boulder nucleus, leaving a green blotch if coca is being chewed (Costas, 1967: 52-53; Vivante, 1952; Regal, 1936: 17-20; Nordenskiöld, 1903: 518; Arriaga, 1968: 59; Casanova, 1946: 628; Marcoy, 1872: 118). The spittle with which quids and chewed maize are saturated seems to be significant here. One may note Sallnow's (1987: 189) observation in connection with a cairn, that "Each pilgrim carried a stone to the summit, spat on it, and threw it on to the cairn." Compare this with Guatemalan practice, in which the traveler would collect a handful of grass, rub his legs with it, spit on it "with respect," and deposit it on the pile with a small stone (Brasseur, 1857-59- II: 564, III: 486). Similar practices involving spitting appear again in the U.S. Southwest (Jett, 1994).

Besides the leaving of offerings, praying has also been noted as a ritual activity. Chochos would pray and dance at a certain wayside cairn (Starr, 1908: 218). Costas (1967: 50, 52), citing other sources, described Aymara use of apachetas in Bolivian passes. The traveler would bow; add a cobble; kneel; and pray. Garcilaso also mentioned prayer.

FUNCTIONS
Certain themes link the purposes of cairn trail shrines among the different ethnic groups by whom they are employed. One of the most persistent is ridding the body of fatigue, and this accounts, at least in part, for the frequency of shrines' location at the tops of steep sections of trail, especially in passes. For example, in the mid-nineteenth century Brasseur (1857-59-II: 564, III: 486) described cairns at high points on "all the roads" in Guatemala; the traveler would deposit a handfull of grass on the pile along with a stone, in order to restore waning vigor. The seventeenth-century chronicler Oviedo (1840: 42-43) collected a report of trail-shrine use in Nicaragua, where natives tossed stones and plants onto certain rocks in the road, in order to avoid fatigue and hunger (cited in Frazer, 1913: 9; Vivante, 1952: 38).

In the Andes, a purpose of ritual offerings at apachetas is to transfer, to a stone or other offering, the fatigue built up by the traveler and his animals after a long, tiring stretch, especially a hill-climb, and to deposit the fatigue-imbued object onto the pile (Vivante, 1952; Regal, 1936: 17-20; and Frazer, 1913: 9, 26-27; also, Arriaga, 1968:59; Rowe, 1946: 297). The meaning of the Quechua word apatsixta is "burden" (apa) "depositor" (cheta), according to Hagen (1955: 67); travelers "placed a stone ... as a symbol of the burden" (Hagen, 1961: 544). Garcilaso (1966: 78), on the other hand, interpreted the word ---repeated by the prayerful burdened traveler at the top of a pass --as meaning "that which causes to rise," implying "we give thanks and offer something to the one [Pachacamac] who enables us to carry these burdens and gives us health and strength to scale such rugged slopes as this." Marcoy (1872: 118) stated that apacheta meant "a place of halting or repose," and Karsten (1926: 347) derived it from the verb "to carry." The seventeeth-century cleric Bernabe Cobo (1990: 116) stated that offerings were made so that the "guacas [sacred places] would let them go by and give them strength." Karsten (1926: 345) noted that placing stones and spitting were ways of warding off the malevolent spirits of the place that caused fatigue. According to Tschopik (1944: 560), "the [Aymara] traveler deposits an offering to gain new strength." Writing of before 1553, Cieza de Leon spoke of travelers depositing stones on hilltop apachetas to "leave their tiredness behind" [end p. 5]

(Hagen, 1959; 1961: 589), noting that apachetas were found at the tops of slopes or in passes, where the porter of burdens would give thanks for having been accorded the strength to climb the hill (Costas, 1967: 50). Although once condemned as idolatrous by the Catholic Church, by 1698 it was considered only superstition for an Indian to make an offering at an apacheta "in the mere belief that fatigue was thusly lessened" (Kubler, 1946: 401-402, citing Pena, 1698: 239-240). Large cairns occur in passes in northern and northeastern Argentina, "and every Puna Indian, on passing, adds a stone and a coca leaf, so that neither he nor his beast of burden may tire on the way" (Nordenskiold, 1903: 518). Nordenskiold (1913: 314) also stated that in the Gran Chaco, Indians crossing a pass would place a stone on the ground so as not to tire.

Other purposes of many of the shrines was to obtain good luck on the journey or in general and to obtain protection. In central Mexico, each Chocho passerby "adds a pebble to the heap, to secure good luck and insure his safe return home." At one Catholicized shrine, the traveler would pray and dance for good health and fortune (Starr, 1908: 218). Good luck on the journey was sought by Mayas depositing stones (Linda Schele, personal communication, 1991, after Ramon Guerra). Bowman (1924: 282) stated that at cairns in northern Chile and Peru, "Each traveler adds a stone for good luck ... they are a kind of shrine and not merely a mark of the trail." Costas (1967: 52) cited sources saying that the Aymara shrine-using traveler kneels and prays for misfortune to be averted; Tschopik (1944: 560) stated that the idea was "to prevent himself and his animal from becoming sick." The purpose of offerings is to ensure a safe journey, according to Casanova (1946: 628). "There are some passes where they deem it impossible to traverse in safety without making an offering" (Nordenskiöld, 1903: 518).

In addition, some apachetas are temporary tombs of dead travelers, and some may have a boundary-marking function as well (Alegria, 1989: 13). In the region of Yamparaez, in the Kichwa zone of Bolivia, roadside cairns, preferably at crossroads, commemorate travelers tragically killed (e. g., by lightning, suicide, etc.). A person hanging himself is considered "as more than human," and to be invoked "for certain things" (Arriaga, 1968: 57). Passersby throw coca quids, or at least spit, to commemorate the spirit and to assure a propitious journey (Costas, 1967: 52-53).

PAGAN / CHRISTIAN SYNCRETISM
It may be noted that Andean practice with respect to cairn shrines is particularly similar to that in the Himalayas (Frazer, 1913: 26-27), although I do not suggest any direct connection. Trail shrines obviously represent a selective sacralization of the landscape. Their origins are pagan, and before that, into dim antiquity, animist. However, they have also been partially pre-empted, in many cases, by Roman Catholic Christianity.

In 1609, Garcilaso (1966: 78) wrote that crosses had been placed at "the crests of the hills" where the apachetas were. The Spaniards in Lima and Quito had officially condemned pagan apachetas in 1567 and 1570, and priests were ordered to dismantle them and to place crosses on them (Jij6n, 1919: 175-176; Hyslop, 1984: 310), although, as mentioned, by 1698, the Church had reduced apacheta use from idolatry to superstition if intended only to lessen fatigue. Crosses have been reported atop cairn trail shrines (Figure 2) not only in the Andes (Marcoy, 1872: 118; Alegria, 1989: 13; Sallnow, 1987: 190) but also elsewhere in Latin Amercia, including among the Tarahumar of Sonora (Bennett and Zingg, 1935: 161-162), the Chocho of Central Mexico (Starr, 1908: 218), and the Maya.

Ellis (1969: 174) wrote that "along today's highways in Old Mexico ... small stones [are] often laid on the arms or piled at the base of those small crosses placed to mark death by accident." This may be an adaptation of a pre-Columbian practice but could also be of Spanish derivation.

Wooden crosses are among modern offerings at apachetas in the Andes. Further, "The big stonepiles [in Ecuador, Bolivia, and Argentina] may be surrounded by scores of little altars made with three or four stones with candles, and religious pictures" (Hyslop 1984: 311), a Catholic increment to a pagan feature. Offerings of flowers and candles at some apachetas were also noted by Costas (1967: 52-53). In connection with pilgrimages to Christianized but presumably formerly pagan religious sites in the Cuzco area, "Each pilgrim carried a stone to the summit, spat on it, and threw it on to the cairn [end p. 6] --the purpose being ... to relieve the soul of its sins before one approached the shrine" (Sallnow, 1987: 189).

SUMMARY
The distribution of cairn trail shrines in Meso- and South America is extremely wide though discontinuous. Over vast areas, the uses of, and beliefs about, such shrines are strikingly similar, including, in many instances, in what would appear to be arbitrary ways. Besides the traveler adding a stone, vegetal material, or some other offering, and praying, such similarities include the localization of shrines on passes and at other high points along trails, and at trail intersections; their use to dispel fatigue, specifically by transferring fatigue to the offered object; their use to obtain protection and good luck; the deposition of spittle and/or a saliva-saturated quid or bunch of grass; and some association with the earth and with death. These uses and beliefs also occur in regions outside Latin America (Jett, 1986; 1994; n. d. a; n. d. b).

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RESUMEN
Los montículos de piedras con simbolismo religioso (cairn shrines) que se encuentran al lado de los caminos, pueden apreciarse en much as partes del mundo. Esto ocurre en diferentes partes de América Latina tanto antes como después de la colonia, y son especialmente prominentes en la región central andino, donde se les conoce con el nombre quechua de apachetas. Lugares típicos donde se los encuentran son los desfiladeros de las montañas y el cruce de caminos, y los viajeros ofrecen varias cosas al montículo-para descansar, y para tener buena suerte y protección en el viaje. Estas ofrendas incluyen piedras, leña, pedazos de ropa, hojas de coca y mascasa de tobaco, maíz, cabello y otros artículos. Muchos de estos montículos simbólicos Ilevan encima una cruz cristiana. [end p. 8]