inukshuk

plural inukshuks · plural inukshuit · plural inuksuit · alternative inuksuk

1. A structure of piled stones, used as a landmark and traditionally constructed by the Inuit, often resembling a humanoid figure.

   The Nunavut Territory flag bears a rendering of an inukshuk in the form of a crucifix.

   2004, Pamela R Stern, Historical Dictionary of the Inuit, page 74

   1 more example

   This is a miniature copy of an inukshuk that actually stands up on a ridgeline far away in the interior, rocks piled in roughly the shape of a human, not to threaten the stranger but to guide him in country where landmarks are either too few or too many to keep straight.

   2006, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, Vintage, published 2007, page 140