The Clan of the Cave Bear is a historical fiction novel by Jean M. Auel. It is the first in the series known as Earth's Children and investigates the possibility of Neanderthals and humans living at the same time. A historical novel is a novel in which the story is set among historical events, or more generally, where the time the action takes place in predates the time of the first publication -- distinguish and contrast the genre of alternate history. ... Daniel Defoes Robinson Crusoe; title page of 1719 newspaper edition A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended fictional narrative in prose. ... Jean Marie Auel (born February 18, 1936 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American writer. ... Earths Children is a series of historical fiction novels written by Jean M. Auel. ... Binomial name Homo neanderthalensis King, 1864 The Neanderthal or Neandertal was a species of genus Homo (Homo neanderthalensis) that inhabited Europe and parts of western Asia from about 230,000 to 29,000 years ago (in the Middle Palaeolithic, early Stone Age). ... Human beings are defined variously in biological, spiritual, and cultural terms, or in combinations thereof. ...

The protagonist is a young Cro-Magnon (human) girl named Ayla. She is orphaned in a earthquake and subsequently adopted into a band of Neanderthals who think of themselves as part of an overarching group, the titular "Clan of the Cave Bear" (or simply "the Clan"). The protagonist or main character is the central figure of a story. ... The Cro-Magnons form the earliest known European examples of Homo sapiens, the subspecies to which modern humans belong. ... An earthquake is a phenomenon that results from and is powered by the sudden release of stress in rocks that radiates seismic waves. ... A Band Society is the simplest form of human society. ... Binomial name Homo neanderthalensis King, 1864 The Neanderthal or Neandertal was a species of genus Homo (Homo neanderthalensis) that inhabited Europe and parts of western Asia from about 230,000 to 29,000 years ago (in the Middle Palaeolithic, early Stone Age). ...

The novel attempts to create the effect of kairosis from Ayla's attempts at assimilation into the alien culture of the neanderthal "Clan". Ayla embodies the Stranger in a Strange Land, acting as our (the modern human readership's) emissary to terra incognita. Here she meets the Mog-ur, a spiritual leader and savant who, although physically handicapped and unable to hunt (as all normal males in the Clan must), represents the acme of the Clan, if not of Neanderthal, evolution: he is vastly more gifted than other mog-urs within the greater Clan in his ability to connect with ancestral spirits and knowledge (cf Frank Herbert's Bene Gesserit concept). The Clan is the Darwinian apex of a communal society, with gender and class roles cemented not only by custom, but by physical, mental and spiritual adaptation. Kairosis is the literary effect of fulfillment in time. ... The word culture, from the Latin colo, -ere, with its root meaning to cultivate, generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance. ... Stranger in A Strange Land Cover Stranger in a Strange Land is a 1961 science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein. ... Terra incognita is a term used in exploration for unknown territory that has not been mapped or documented. ... Kim Peek is an autistic savant who inspired the character of Charlie Babbitt in the move Rain Man A savant (suh-VAHNT) is a learned person, well versed in literature or science, often with an exceptional skill in a specialized field of learning. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Acme (Greek ακμή, the peak, zenith, prime) denotes the best of something. ... Binomial name †Homo neanderthalensis King, 1864 The Neanderthal (Homo neanderthalensis) or Neandertal was a species of the Homo genus that inhabited Europe and parts of western Asia from about 230,000 to 29,000 years ago, during the Middle Paleolithic period. ... Frank Herbert (1920 - 1986) Frank Patrick Herbert (October 8, 1920 – February 11, 1986) was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author. ... The Bene Gesserit (from Latin or Arabic: see the origin of the name) are a key social, religious and political force in Frank Herberts science fiction universe of Dune. ... This article is about Darwinism as a philosophical concept; see evolution for the page on biological evolution; modern evolutionary synthesis for neo-Darwinism; and also evolution (disambiguation). ...

Concepts explored in the novel, albeit briefly, include the innately greater ability of Homo sapiens sapiens (i.e. Cro-Magnon, i.e. modern humans) to understand abstract concepts such as language and counting, their relative deficiency in instinct and their tendency toward innovation. Ayla makes inroads into animal and even plant domestication as well as - from the reader's perspective - the rational codification of knowledge, or epistemology; this is contrasted with the Clan's reliance on inherited memories. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Knowledge. ...

Ayla's obvious physical and less obvious mental differences from Clan people lead to most of the conflicts, as, for example, when she is thought by Clan members to be a very slow learner. The process of "learning" for a member of the Clan is akin to being reminded of something they already knew but had forgotten, but for Ayla, a human, the same information has to be assimilated anew and therefore comparably slowly.

Ultimately, the novel opts for catharsis, with Ayla finding herself exiled from the Clan to begin a new life on her own; the sequels pick up her story (see Earth's Children). The Valley of Horses is the next novel in this series. Catharsis, Latin from the Greek Katharsis purification, is a sudden emotional breakdown or climax that constitutes overwhelming feelings of great pity, sorrow, laughter, or any extreme change in emotion that results in the renewal, restoration and revitalization for living. ... Earths Children is a series of historical fiction novels written by Jean M. Auel. ... The Valley of Horses is a historical fiction novel by Jean M. Auel. ...

The archaeological research for this book is respectable, especially when one considers that all of it was done from Auel's public library, with no budget for travel. Some of the descriptions are based on the cave burial at Shanidar. Shanidar The cave site of Shanidar is located at the foothills of the Zagros Mountains in north-eastern Iraq. ...

Auel may have exaggerated the difference between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens sapiens. It has been proved that Neanderthals had a Hyoid bone. Thus, they were most likely capable of using a vocal language and were not dependent on sign language (see Neanderthal's ability to speak). However, the existence of a hyoid bone in Neanderthals was only confirmed in 1983, some years after Auel had published the book. Also, they would not look as different as Auel describes. They had a receding chin and not none as Auel describes, as a look at their remains and the reconstructed images confirms.^{[citation needed]} Binomial name †Homo neanderthalensis King, 1864 The Neanderthal (Homo neanderthalensis) or Neandertal was a species of the Homo genus that inhabited Europe and parts of western Asia from about 230,000 to 29,000 years ago, during the Middle Paleolithic period. ... Human beings are defined variously in biological, spiritual, and cultural terms, or in combinations thereof. ... The hyoid bone (Os Hyoideum; Lingual Bone) is a bone in the human neck, not articulated to any other bone; it is supported by the muscles of the neck and in turn supports the root of the tongue. ... Binomial name †Homo neanderthalensis King, 1864 The Neanderthal (Homo neanderthalensis) or Neandertal was a species of the Homo genus that inhabited Europe and parts of western Asia from about 230,000 to 29,000 years ago, during the Middle Paleolithic period. ...

In 1986, the movie, The Clan of the Cave Bear was released. It starred Daryl Hannah and Joey Cramer and was a box-office flop having cost US$15 million to produce and only bringing in $1.9 million in the U.S. None of the other books have been filmed. 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Clan of the Cave Bear is a 1986 movie based on the book of the same name by Jean M. Auel. ... Daryl Hannah at the Maker Faire in San Mateo, California on April 23, 2006. ... Joey Cramer as David in Flight of the Navigator Joey Cramer (born August 23, 1973 in Vancouver, British Columbia) was a child actor in the United States during the mid 1980s, most notable for his role as the main character in Flight of the Navigator. ...