Living Stones
In the Andes, some stones are “raised” by shepherds: when they see them in the mountains, they are in charge of taking them home, feeding them and taking care of them because these “living beings” are hungry and need attention. If these living stones do not question immediately the limits of the living area that humans manifest, they question some common processes: they are raised and nourished but do not grow. They discreetly add their mineral qualities to what it means to be alive and open the possibility of taking into account new qualities to make life. In the European context, other stones also have this ability to disturb the boundaries of the living world: “wobbly” stones defy the laws of a seemingly precarious balance, while blowing stones make their voice heard when the wind rushes through some of their cavities. In this article, the aim is to explore and extend the field of living things based on the sensitive qualities that characterize stones: duration, hardness, apparent fixity. By considering the movements that the actors, in the Andes and in Europe, lend to certain stones, we suggest a descriptive approach of the ways in which lithic mobility is perceived or felt.