A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word cairn comes from the Scottish Gaelic: càrn [ˈkʰaːrˠn̪ˠ] (plural càirn [ˈkʰaːrˠɲ]). A variant is the inuksuk (plural inuksuit), used by the Inuit and other peoples of the Arctic region of North America.