Title The Mammoth Hunters

Author	Jean M. Auel
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Earth's Children
Genre(s)	Historical novel
Publisher	Crown
Released	December 21, 1985
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
ISBN	ISBN 0553381644
Preceded by	The Valley of Horses
Followed by	The Plains of Passage

The Mammoth Hunters is an historical fiction novel by Jean M. Auel released in 1985. It is the sequel to The Valley of Horses and third in the Earth's Children series. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 186 × 300 pixelsFull resolution (186 × 300 pixel, file size: 84 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Book cover of The Mammoth Hunters, by Jean M. Auel. ... Jean Marie Auel (born February 18, 1936 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American writer. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Earths Children is a series of historical fiction novels written by Jean M. Auel. ... A historical novel is a novel in which the story is set among historical events, or more generally, in which the time of the action predates the lifetime of the author. ... December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) book is bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with cloth or heavy paper) and a stitched spine. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... The Valley of Horses is a historical fiction novel by Jean M. Auel. ... The Plains of Passage is an historical fiction novel by Jean M. Auel published in 1990. ... 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. ... A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative, typically in prose. ... Jean Marie Auel (born February 18, 1936 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American writer. ... The Valley of Horses is a historical fiction novel by Jean M. Auel. ... Earths Children is a series of historical fiction novels written by Jean M. Auel. ...

Plot summary

This book starts off from the events at the end of The Valley of Horses. The main protagonists, a young woman named Ayla and a man named Jondalar, meet a group known as the Mamutoi, or Mammoth Hunters, with whom they live for a period of time. As their name would suggest, their hosts rely on mammoth not only for food but also for building materials and a number of other commodities - and indeed for spiritual sustenance. They make their home with the Lion Camp of the Mammoth Hunters, which features a number of respected Mamutoi. Wisest of their nation is Old Mamut, their eldest shaman and the leader of the entire Mamutoi priesthood, who becomes Ayla's mentor and colleague in the visionary and esoteric fields of thought. Observing Ayla's affinity with horses and wolves, Mamut begins to induct her into the ranks of the Mamuti. A protagonist is the, or a, central figure of a story. ... Ayla is the main character of Jean Auels Earths Children novels. ... Jondalar is the male main character of Jean Auels Earths Children series. ... Species Mammuthus africanavus African mammoth Mammuthus columbi Columbian mammoth Mammuthus exilis Pygmy mammoth Mammuthus jeffersonii Jeffersonian mammoth Mammuthus trogontherii Steppe mammoth Mammuthus meridionalis Mammuthus subplanifrons South African mammoth Mammuthus primigenius Woolly mammoth Mammuthus lamarmorae Sardinian Dwarf Mammoth A mammoth is any of a number of an extinct genus of proboscidean...

More so than any other book in the Earth's Children series, The Mammoth Hunters relies on the tension created by the relationships between the characters to create a storyline, in that Ayla's susceptibility to being deceived or confused, caused by her upbringing among essentially honest people, leads the more complicated, obstinate, and passionate Jondalar to make multiple errors. The conflict in question is a love triangle between Jondalar, Ayla and Lion Camp member Ranec, a unique fellow in that his father (master flint knapper Wymez) traveled far to the south and mated a woman whose skin was as black as night, resulting in a brown-skinned son. Jondalar becomes jealous and is easily pushed away, and Ayla almost mates with Ranec before several last-minute revelations reunite them. Some fans have noted that author Jean Auel for making the book somewhat of a soap opera compared to her other works. Nonetheless, many readers (for instance, on Auel's fan pages) report having enjoyed the book. In the end, Ayla and Jondalar leave for the year-long return journey to Jondalar's people, the Zelandonii, a journey detailed in The Plains of Passage. Earths Children is a series of historical fiction novels written by Jean M. Auel. ... For Philippine soap opera, see Teleserye. ... The Plains of Passage is an historical fiction novel by Jean M. Auel published in 1990. ...

As in all her books, Auel's archaeological research is detailed, and the huts of mammoth bones which she describes the Mamutoi building are based on real finds. Similar finds, called Tuns, may be the source of ancient Celtic myths about the "Little People".