zao rockmounds 蔵王の石塚 (yamagata, japan)

Posted by timothy sullivan (Tokyo, Japan) on 17 October 2008 in Landscape & Rural.

Silently looking out from one of Zao's peaks (near Lake Okama) are these small rockmounds--piles of volcanic rocks under 1m in height, created perhaps by tourists who wanted to gather artifacts that had been otherwise strewn about the lunar landscape in concentrated spots.

Considering these mounds I thought for some reason of Ireland's Burren and the countless dolmen (some historical; others inspired replications) that dot the landscape. This led me to wonder: what is it about our nature as humans that beckons us to replicate certain basic forms? When we see stones scattered about, what is it that calls us to gather and stack them? Children seem to do this almost instinctually; when given the chance, they take gravel or sand in their hands, then sprinkle it into a pile--then go out, collect more, until a satisfactory mound has been made.

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