A type of lithophone, bell stones are significant in ethnography and are typically identified through local written history and folklore in combination with physical archeological details such as cup-shaped depressions.
[1] Bell stones are present in the Andes, and feature in one local creation myth involving God and Supay.
It was used to announce important events including the births of aliʻi and the approach of religious or royal processions.
Seams of diabase in southwestern Uruguay have produced some stones that vibrate with a bell-like tone when struck.
Two large boulders of this material are located three meters apart in a forested area near the Arroyo de la Virgen; the smaller one produces two distinct tones separated by a minor third.