consciousness; we can take different takes on it viz. religion, philosophical, cognitive sciences and evolutionary biology.

the most satisfactory explanation that i got was from cognitive sciences(https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/11/eaaz0087)or conscience as a side effect of brain's electrical and magnetic field and evolutionary biology(Attention Schema Theory).

AST: I am going to write a small time line for development of our brain(correct me if i am wrong)

Claim: This happened due to too much information processing! As complex organism starts observing too much information; there were competition among neurons which leads to

(a)Selective Signal Enhancement (eg Hydra)---> (b) Centralized Controller for Coordination (Tectum): this is for overt/default attention controls eyes, head and is found both mammals and reptiles ---> (c) wulst(in reptiles) and cortex(in mammals): this is for covert attention, meaning you don't have to attend to the stimuli to process it; you can think about the sound coming from your behind without looking at it!

This is the main difference tectum is still in both of us and our response to most of the stimuli is controlled by it, but deep processing, thinking is done by the cortex which models it on a SCHEMA(a workflow)[neural pathways/consciousness] nobody knows but we tend to focus on this schema to do the deep processing [covert attention]

We make a sense of self using this; other animals as well! We also associate ourselves with others using this; language was a direct consequence of this. As we extended a communication system of our brain to others!

Now; your statement if a set of stones can have conscience? Yes it can have; over the time if this system of stones will be observed; with some associated meaning to it states[arranged in circle or square]; someone can argue that it is aware!

You can look at universe as a set of rocks; the periodic movements; it's aware!? maybe :)