The Clan of the Cave Bear

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The Clan of the Cave Bear
Author	Jean M. Auel
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Earth's Children
Genre(s)	Historical novel
Publisher	Crown
Publication date	May 4, 1980
Media type	Print (Hardcover)
Pages	468 pp
ISBN	0-517-54202-1
OCLC Number	6277166
Dewey Decimal	813/.54
LC Classification	PS3551.U36 C57 1980
Followed by	The Valley of Horses

The Clan of the Cave Bear is a historical fiction novel by Jean M. Auel about prehistoric times set somewhat before the extinction of the Neanderthal race after 600,000 years as a species, and at least 10-15,000 years after 'Homo sapiens' remains are documented and dated in Europe as a viable second human species. It is the first book in the Earth's Children book series which is a purpose-built and written multi-book serial novel, that investigates the possibilities and some likely interactions of Neanderthal and modern Cro-Magnon humans living near each other at the same time.

Contents 1 Historical backdrop 2 Plot summary 3 Historical and research background 4 See also 5 External links 6 References

[edit] Historical backdrop

Archeologists believe the Neanderthal branch of mankind probably died out circa 30,000 – 22,000 years before present, the later date of which is within a few millennia of the peak (worst) advance of the last glacial period during the current Ice Age. The Aurignacian tool making culture cannot be definitively attributed to co-occurrence with non-conflicted datable Cro-magnon remains, leaving open the possibility that the culture, as yet scientifically unlinked with definitive identifiable skeletal remains was "the last hurrah" of the Neanderthals' civilization and racial existence.

In point of fact, the culture and loci of the finds better matches Auels' portrayed homelands for the Cro-magnon cultures of her works from the plains of the Ukraine and Danube valley across the Alps to western France, which is consistent with mainstream archeological thinking. Her intermingling of Neanderthal peoples in a timeframe likely somewhat after their extinction is suggested but muddled by the uncertainty of archaeological dating and can clearly be easily accepted as well rationalized author's poetic license — or a good educated guess which cannot definitively be ruled out as a valid scenario. Auel's sprinkling of references and mentions (in various series works) to the "coming" re-advance of "the polar ice" sheets clearly places her timeline before the peak southern ice encroachment during the last glacial period circa 18,000 y.B.P. It is accordingly generally accepted that her timeframe is between 25,000-28,000 y.B.P.

Science facts:

Surviving Cro-Magnon artifacts include huts, cave paintings, carvings and antler-tipped spears. The remains of tools suggest that they knew how to make woven clothing. They had huts, constructed of rocks, clay, bones, branches, and animal hide/fur. These early humans used manganese and iron oxides to paint pictures and may have created the first calendar around 15,000 years ago^[1].

The flint tools found in association with the remains at the first Cro-Magnon site have associations with the Aurignacian culture that Lartet had identified a few years before he found the skeletons.

The Cro-Magnons must have come into contact with the Neanderthals, and are often credited with causing the latter's extinction, although modern humans seem to have coexisted with Neanderthals for up to 60,000 years in the Levant^[2] and for more than 15,000 years in France^[3].

Auel's research and incorporation of such data into her story arch works well within her narrative.

[edit] Plot summary

The story begins with a 5-year old girl who is suddenly orphaned and left homeless by an earthquake that destroys her family's camp. She wanders aimlessly, naked and unable to feed herself, for several days. Having been attacked and nearly killed by a cave lion and suffering from starvation, exhaustion, and infection of her wounds, she collapses, on the verge of death.

The narrative switches to a group of people—the "Clan"—who have also been made homeless by the destruction of their cave in the earthquake and are trekking in search of a new home. Alerted by vultures circling above the unconscious child, the medicine woman of the group, Iza, asks permission from Brun, the head of the Clan, to rescue the waif. Iza uses her wide knowledge of healing herbs and procedures in order to nurse the little girl back to life. When she regains consciousness, the girl is shocked to find that her rescuers are physically quite different from people with whom she is familiar: they are Neanderthal whilst she is of the Cro-Magnon people (known to her rescuers as the "Others").

Various aspects of the social, physical and cultural differences between the Clan and the Others are brought out in the story, as imagined by Ms. Auel — a portrayal that leans heavily on reasonable archeological and anthropological thinking of the late 1970's when the series began — . Although her portrayal may not agree with mainline academic thought, it has been well researched and her depiction is plausible based on her assumptions.

In her theses, the Neanderthals' vocal apparatus is incapable of the range of vocalizations of the Cro-Magnons and members of the Clan cannot understand, far less pronounce, the girl's name: the closest they get to it (and the name by which she is subsequently known) is "Ayla". Their racial verbal limitations are presented as an evolutionary limitation, a detriment to competition with the newer more flexible Cro-magnon species  — Auel's partial explanation of why Neanderthal became extinct shortly after the epoch of her setting. However, the Neanderthals are portrayed as having a highly-developed non-verbal language of hand and arm gestures which Ayla at first has difficulty even recognising as a method of communication. Ultimately, Ayla is raised with Clan customs, not to laugh or smile, and not to cry. Crying in particular was seen as a genetic weakness of the eyes suffered by the "Others", or at least by Ayla and her foster-mother Iza was constantly trying new herbal remedies attempting to help Ayla cease such unhealthful tear letting. She breaks many Clan customs while growing up: she secretly watches the men, picks up a weapon, learns how to use a weapon and when discovered after a lengthy period of hiding her skills, runs off with her half-breed child to save him from being put to death by ritual exposure when he is viewed as deformed and therefore defective — an anthropologically documented practice that exists in remote cultures even today.

Apart from physical differences there are mental and cultural differences between the Clan and the Others. Mentally, the Neanderthals have highly developed memories including a hereditary Clan memory extending back through countless generations, part of which can be awakened through rituals performed by the Clan's "Mog-ur"—a holy man or Shaman, but most of which is just triggered by reminding a youth of how-to-do a task, or discussing it. Increasing reliance on this ever-accumulating memory has resulted in a strict, almost hide-bound adherence to tradition and decreasing ability to adapt which—the book makes clear—will result in the eventual demise of this branch of humanity.

Apart from Ayla and Iza, the character of "Creb", the Mog-ur, is most developed and significant in the book. Born with deformities which would normally have resulted in his being abandoned to die as an infant, he fortuitously was allowed to live and despite—or rather as a result of—his handicap, developed supreme mental and psychic abilities. As a child he was attacked by a Cave Bear, which added to his infirmities but was regarded as being a blessing from the most highly revered and powerful spirit of the Clan people, who regard not just their own group but all people of their kind as an encompassing 'Clan of the Cave Bear'. Creb's abilities are such that he is not only his own group's Mog-ur but "The Mog-ur" of the entire extended clan of Neanderthal peoples in the region. Creb, called "Mogur-One-Eyed" far to the west (geographical estimate: circa Czechoslovakia – Germany region) is quite famous, and his feats are known even outside the local region as Ayla and Jondalar discover in a Clan vs. Cro-Magnon encounter in "The Plains of Passage".

Although Creb's powers—and deformities—are such that he is revered and feared by other members of his clan, he is touched by the practically helpless foundling, who encounters him with none of the distancing awe or apprehension of other clan members giving him hitherto unknown warm personal experiences. Consequently, Ayla and Creb establish a close surrogate father/daughter relationship, which even survives despite a serious final unintentional cultural wounding as Ayla clashes with the Clan's male dominated culture, and if discovered would have been put to death for violating a Clan religious (spirit-world) ritual — a wounding Auel repeatedly refers back to at least once in most of the rest of the series' works when discussing Ayla's feelings about the spirit world, each time crediting Creb with saving her. These flash-backs are likely part of her overall series story arch background and rationale, but the spirit world episode and its repeated visitations are clearly important.

Overall in its timeline, the novel follows Ayla's development from child to young (teenaged) woman and mother of 11-14, illustrating en route various aspects of the Clan's way of life: hunting and gathering, early mating, and social relationships, rituals, taboos, beliefs, and environment. A major sub-plot thread running through the book is the mutually antagonistic relationship between Ayla and the heir-apparent leader Broud, son of the leader and brother of Creb and Iza, Brun. Short of unexpected death, Broud is and will be appointed as the successor of his father as leader of the clan, given their hide-bound traditions, so Iza eventually advises Ayla to leave and seek her own kind, "the others", before the juvenile friction that has become hate can put Ayla at his mercy.

This interaction culminates with his raping (within our cultural outlook, but not to the Clan's) and eventually impregnating Ayla as he demands his due as a male, repeatedly demanding she help him "relieve his needs". The offspring is considered 'deformed', although he is simply a hybrid mix between the two sub-species — a characterization which is repeated among Cro-magnon societies and termed "abominations" as is depicted in the various sequels where it is Cro-magnons who commit more overt and heinous raping according to Auel. He is unexpectedly accepted by the Clan, and he is called Durc, being named after Ayla's favorite character in a famous legend — which again fans the flames of hate between Ayla and Broud, only this time, his father is already preparing to retire and cede him the Clan leadership authority.

The book ends with Creb's death, Broud's succession and his banishment (ritual death curse) of Ayla, who sets off to find other people of her own kind as Iza, on her deathbed years before, had urged Ayla to do (but which Ayla put off until Broud banished her). She is not allowed to take her son with her, a tragic event that scars Ayla's psyche for the rest of the series.

The sequel "The Valley of Horses" continues Ayla's story, which is further developed in other books of the Earth's Children series, which include "The Mammoth Hunters"; "The Plains of Passage"; and "The Shelters of Stone." Auel is still working on the final book planned in the series, and according to web posts by her son is in negotiations to do a seventh work as a series finale.^[4]

[edit] Historical and research background

The archaeological and paleontological research for this book was carried out by Auel from her public library, by attending archaeological conventions, and touring extensively on sites with briefings by working field archaeologists.^[5] Some of the descriptions are based on the first adult Neanderthal skeletons in Iraq from the cave burial at Shanidar, dating between 60-80,000 years BP. Other data is clearly linked to the widespread Aurignacian culture and Gravettian culture, and their tell-tale Venus figurines which Auel uses as one center of her Cro-magnon religious practices.^[6]

[edit] See also

This first novel of the series must be understood to be the purposeful introductory novel of a greater serial novel outlined initially as six books. Several of the following topics are listed here as basis topics of (research and hypothesizes behind) the greater work, as is demonstrated from the outset in maps and archeological digs and finds illustrating the books of the series.

• Animal Usage in the Gravettian
• Aurignacian culture
• Gravettian culture
• Neanderthal interaction with Cro-Magnons
• Quest for Fire
• Venus figurines

[edit] External links

• Photos of the first edition of The Clan of the Cave Bear

[edit] References