The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel (novel #227)

…her people were newcomers to their land – but since they arrived things had been changing. They seemed to bring change with them.

 

Clan of the Cave Bear is a novel set in prehistoric times on the north coast of what is now the Black Sea. It follows the lives of the Cave Bear clan and the introduction into the Clan of an orphaned female child of the “others.”

 

The Cave Bear are likely Neanderthals, and the Others are Cro-Magnon, though the author makes no such distinction in the context. This is the first in Auel’s six-book Earth’s Children series.

 

The story opens when the child Ayla is left homeless and orphaned by a severe earthquake. She wanders aimlessly and is attacked by a cave lion. She survives by sheltering in a crevice too narrow for the predator to reach her. She is near death from exposure, loss of blood, and starvation when the Clan finds her. They are indifferent and sure to leave her until the aged medicine woman, who has some status, gives aid and is allowed to carry the child with them as they search for a new cave. They were also left homeless by the earthquake.

 

Most of the clan are indifferent, and some are hostile to the strange child, but Ayla has two allies. The medicine woman Iza, and her brother Creb who also has special status as the shaman or mog-ur. Creb convinces the tribal leader, Brun, that Ayla is lucky and should be allowed to remain with them. Over time, she is accepted by most, even loved and admired by some, but she always has one fearsome enemy, Broud, heir apparent leader.

 

Creb is not only mog-ur, he is The Mog-ur, the most revered mog-ur amongst all Cave Bear tribes. He senses that Ayla’s coming portends upheaval.

 

As Mog-ur sat alone on the open plain watching the last of the torches sputter and die, he thought of the strange girl Iza had found and his uneasiness grew until it became a physical discomfort. Her kind had been met before, but only recently in his concept of reckoning, and not many of the chance meetings had been pleasant. Where they had come from was a mystery – her people were newcomers to their land – but since they arrived things had been changing. They seemed to bring change with them.

 

Of course, he isn’t wrong.

 

This was a fascinating and enjoyable read. I empathized with Ayla immediately. I’m confident that was Auel’s intent, Ayla being the more “modern” human. Just as Creb sensed change, the reader senses the process of natural selection at work on the cusp of a change in human history.

 

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

 

This novel satisfies the “NFL Team” category (title must contain the name of an NFL team) in the What’s in a Name 2024 challenge.

 

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