The theory of archetypes has well been developed in works of many foreign and Russian scholars: C.G. Jung, Yu.V. Domansky, E.M. Meletinsky, V.A. Markov, A.A. Kolesnikov, M.A. Khakuasheva and others. At the present stage, it is essential to study the key archetypes - with evidence from ethno-cultural materials - for the understanding of ‘logos’ and ‘voice’ of different peoples worldwide. The article considers the central archetypal image of Karachay-Balkar culture - ‘stone’ - in the composite context of all its mythopoetic meanings. Proceeding from the premise that the rocky mountainous ethnolandscape and the key archetype are closely interrelated, the author considers the status of stone in the material culture of North Caucasian highlanders in the fi rst part of the paper, namely: stone houses, fences, millstones, fortresses, ovens, grindstones, amulets, prayer rugs, press stones, astronomical calendars, measure of surface, divination objects, sports equipment, talismans, healing stones, grave-stones, etc. A special group of stones are those used in folk games. In common, ethnographers distinguish about 250 stone-denoting words in the Karachay-Balkar language. The second part of the research deals with the key archetypal meanings of stone in the Karachay-Balkar epic - The Narts - which is the main epic monument of the Balkar and Karachay people. Here, too, the concept of ‘stone’ occupies an important place defi ning all levels of the practical and spiritual life of the highlander. According to the epic, the fi rst man had been placed into the core of a blue meteorite stone and, thus, came down from the sky. In another signifi cant episode, the hero fi lls caldrons of infernal forces with stones instead of food, thereby expressing the emerging spiritual independence of the Narts. The motif of birth from stone can be found in folklore of some peoples worldwide; but the motif of fertilization of a stone is unique and is absent in other myths. The Nart hero Sosuruk had been born from stone and after death also turned into stone. The list of ‘stone’ motifs comprises the ones as follows: ‘stone divination’, ‘stone as a measure of honor and dignity of a person’, ‘stone as a way of learning the world’, ‘stone as a creation of a solid culture from unstable elements’. The motif of ‘patience’ plays an important role in the value system of North Caucasian highlanders. In many fairy tales and legends there are characters with stones attached to their feet, sometimes millstones, symbolizing both patience and the secret high-speed energy of a person. When reading the Nart sagas, all the listed ‘stone’ images and motifs - such as the cradle of the fi rst man, stone informative books, a chaos-conquering fi rmament (stone as a means to learn the world), the code of human attachment to the native land - should be perceived in a semantic unity. The main folklore ‘stone’ motifs are widely and creatively applied in literary works by Karachay and Balkar professional authors.