Shared Family Quirks: Ayla notes that when he's worried, his forehead knots in the same way his brother Jondalar's does when he's fretting over something. Awful Wedded Life: With Laramar. Besides neglecting their kids and drinking, they don't have much in common anymore, they frequently argue and they haven't had sex in years. Laramar dumps Tremeda at the end of the last book and she doesn't seem too upset. Alpha Bitch: Of the Ninth Cave. Jondalar and Thonolan mention she has a reputation for being vindictive and sharp-tongued even before she actually appears. When she's finally introduced, she soon proves to be even worse than they let on, being very petty, self-centred, manipulative and just generally obnoxious to be around. She's even got a Girl Posse of sorts who follow her around, do her bidding and snigger along with her snide remarks and cruel jokes.

Animal Motif: The golden eagle. He is said to be restless with a love of travelling and adventure like an eagle. Green-Eyed Monster: Most of her antagonism towards Ayla is motivated by jealousy over Ayla's beauty and popularity, especially because Jondalar - whom Marona once expected to mate - is with her now.Earn Your Happy Ending: She mates Lanidar, who treats her kindly and freely offers to help care for her younger siblings, and she learns skills like cooking and healing from Ayla, who along with Jondalar, become a surrogate family to her. The Earth Children" is an overarching term; their primary allegiances are to their people and their caves. Each culture has a name for itself ( Zelandonii, for instance, means "Children of the Great Earth Mother who live in the Southwest") and may subdivide into smaller Caves or Camps (the Twenty-Ninth Cave of the Zelandonii, the Lion Camp of the Mamutoi). Curiously, however, most Other culture names includes their word for Great Earth Mother: Doni in Zelandonii, Mut in Mamutoi ("Children of the Great Earth Mother who hunt Mammoths"), Gaea in Sungaea (translation unknown), etc. Their culture is far more egalitarian, with different twists and customs at every hand; Mamutoi Camps, for instance, are co-ruled by headmen and headwomen who are biological, or adoptive, siblings, and the Sharamudoi, a people that lives half-on and -off the Great Mother River, form complex co-mate systems between river couples (Ramudoi) and land couples (Shamudoi). Each entire people generally gathers for Summer Meetings every year, during which a number of important ceremonies, such as the Matrimonial, take place. Accurate to current DNA evidence, Auel depicts Cro-Magnons and Neanderthals as able to interbreed. The mixed-race children are generally not favorably regarded by either group. As in many historical cultures, malformed Clan children are routinely subjected to exposure, while the Others may allow such children to live but prejudicially label them as 'abominations'. Such children and their experiences enter the plotline in several books of the series. Reasonable Authority Figure: He's nervous about Ayla and Jondalar turning up with horses and especially a wolf, but hears them out when they explain the animals aren't dangerous. He willingly follows Ayla's instructions on how to introduce himself to Wolf and after being satisfied Wolf isn't a threat to his people, he agrees to let Wolf into the settlement provided Ayla and Jondalar can control him.

In the book’s second half, five years have passed and Ayla’s acolyte training has occupied much of her time. While refraining from attending the annual summer meeting to complete the last of her obligations, Ayla accidently drinks a hallucinogenic tea that sends her on a three-day psychedelic trip. Vividly described by Auel, Ayla’s trip ends with her in a cave, where she experiences her calling from a higher power known as the Great Earth Mother — Ayla’s experience is a gift that comes at great personal sacrifice. Earth's Children is a series of epic [1] historical fiction (or more precisely, prehistorical fiction) novels [2] [3] written by Jean M. Auel set circa 30,000 years before the present day. There are six novels in the series. Although Auel had previously mentioned in interviews that there would be a seventh novel, [4] publicity announcements for the sixth confirmed it would be the final book in the sequence. False Soulmate: To Jondalar. Their relationship was never ideal due to her being several years older and his donii-woman – her role was to introduce an adolescent Jondalar to the 'Gift of Pleasure', but nothing more. Having a serious relationship would be considered quite scandalous and could've gotten Zolena in trouble (Jondalar mentions that as the older woman, she would've received more blame). Despite this, Jondalar deeply loved her and was never interested in being with anyone else, while Zolena herself even considered breaking the taboo and mating him. The incident with Madroman, wherein Jondalar beat the crap out of him for publicly revealing their Secret Relationship, made Zolena realize it would never work out and she broke things off. Years later, Jondalar meets his Second Love Ayla and while they also face many challenges to their relationship, they're ultimately more compatible and end up Happily Married. Zelandoni herself greatly approves of Ayla and thinks it was destiny she and Jondalar didn't end up together, as otherwise, she would probably not have become Zelandoni Who is First.

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Jondalar knew his mate was very familiar with the huge felines. "Ayla knows cave lions," he said. "Perhaps we should ask her what she thinks." Joharran nodded in her direction, asking the question silently. Marona calls Zelandoni (Zolena) a "fat old woman". Zelandoni simply points out that she herself was once considered the most beautiful woman in the Ninth Cave and is living proof that no one stays young and beautiful forever. In the meanwhie, she's become the Zelandonii equivalent of The Pope and is respected by all, whereas most people agree that, aside from looking hot, Marona has few positive traits. Joharran's brow wrinkled in a way that was so much like his taller though younger brother's, it made Ayla want to smile, but it usually showed at a time when smiling would be inappropriate. "Perhaps it would be wiser just to avoid them," the dark-haired leader said. Full members of the zelandonia are known as zelandoni, going by this title publicly instead of their birth names. The leader of the zelandonia is called Zelandoni Who Is First, the First Among Those Who Serve the Mother, or just the First if that's too much of a mouthful. If they're in the company of other zelandoni, then a zelandoni will also be referred to by the number of their cave to avoid confusion.

Stalker with a Crush: To Zolena; he used to follow her around and spy on her and Jondalar together. As a result he overheard that their feelings for each other were more than just physical attraction. Disproportionate Retribution: Her being vexed at Jondalar leaving her at the altar is understandable...but she still resents him for it over five years later and after she mated (then divorced) another man. It's clear she never actually loved Jondalar and they weren't even formally Promised; it was simply expected they would get together because she's the most beautiful woman of the tribe, whilst he's considered one of the most handsome and has a high social standing. She is also cruel to Ayla simply for being his new girlfriend, when she'd never even met the woman and Ayla had only ever been nice to her. A girl from the South Holding of the Twenty-ninth Cave. She gains some notoriety for not waiting until First Rites to start having sex and thus became pregnant.She stopped. "There are lions up ahead just beyond the split in the trail," she said under her breath. Statuesque Stunner: She was once considered stunningly beautiful and Jondalar thinks she's still attractive; she's mentioned as being a tall woman, just slightly shorter than Ayla (who is nearly six feet tall). Near-Death Experience: As a baby, he was snatched by a golden eagle. His mother grabbed him and hung on until the eagle let go. Afterwards, the golden eagle is regarded as Willomar's personal totem. Facial Markings: Fully initiated Zelandoni have tattoos on their foreheads. It's also mentioned other high-ranking members of the tribe have facial tattoos, such Marthona (a former cave leader) and Willomar (the Trade Master). Bait the Dog: When she first meets Ayla early in The Shelters of Stone, she is outwardly quite pleasant to her and indicates to Jondalar she wants to let bygones be bygones. She even offers to take Ayla with her to get her some new clothes and do her hair and make-up, in preparation for the welcoming ceremony the Ninth Cave is holding for her that evening. However, it's soon revealed that Marona is actually using it as an opportunity to try and humiliate Ayla.

After I read this book, I was glad it was over. I’ll always like the first books in the series and continue to reread them, but this one? Ummm, no. I will never, ever read this book again. Everyone Loves Blondes: She’s very beautiful with pale blonde hair. However, it should be noted that her unpleasant personality is seen as making her less attractive in spite of her looks, and the one man she really wants has no interest in her. For this reason, Clan members are highly adept at reading body language and cannot be deceived by lying; while one can spell an untruth with one's hands, one's posture will give it away. Consequently, the idea of telling an untruth is alien to Clan culture, a fact that Ayla needs time to conceptualize and understand. However, a Clan member can "refrain from mentioning" something she would prefer other people did not know, even though residual clues would probably reveal that something was being concealed. Cultural conventions, Auel suggests, would cause other Clan members to ignore the concealment out of sheer courtesy, though, again, Ayla has trouble grasping this concept. Joharran, the leader, lifted his arm, signaling the band to a halt. Just beyond the place where the trail diverged, they now saw pale- tawny cave lions moving around in the grass. The grass was such effective camouflage, however, that they might not have noticed them until they were much closer, if it hadn't been for the sharp eyes of Thefona. The young woman from the Third Cave had exceptionally good vision, and though she was quite young, she was noted for her ability to see far and well. Her innate talent had been recognized early and they had begun training her when she was a small girl; she was their best lookout. The Leader: He’s the leader of the Ninth Cave. He inherits his leadership skills from his mother and father, who were both leader before him; it's indicated he learnt from Marthona in particular (seeing as his father died when he was too young to properly remember him) and his leadership style is reminiscent of her's.

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Teen Pregnancy: She's said to be only around thirteen years old and is already expecting her first child. Although she's regarded as quite young to be having a baby, she's unconcerned and considered herself blessed (though it is mentioned part of this could be due to pregnancy hormones). Ayla’s hunting prowess is just one of the many skills acquired through the years transforming her into a prehistoric MacGyver. In the course of the series, she has also become a shaman, herbalist, horse whisperer, fire starter, inventor, linguist, good cook and beautiful, loving wife. One of the new book’s more captivating passages, in fact, describes how Ayla single-handedly kills a menacing wolverine while her infant daughter naps on a blanket nearby, protected by her loyal pet wolf. She then dresses the animal, which entails gutting and skinning the beast. All Girls Like Ponies: She’s fond of riding horses, like her parents, and takes Gray (Whinney's second foal, who was born round about the same time as her) as her personal mount. Love Triangle: Fancied he was in one with Jondalar, for Zolena. She barely looked twice at him, which he didn’t take well.