The Clan of the Cave Bear, the Valley of Horses, the Mammoth ... by Jean M. Auel

However, Creb forced Iza to reveal Ayla's plan when he realized that Ayla had been gone for longer than usual. Unbeknownst to anyone else, Uba had followed Ayla to the cave. Iza knew of Ayla's plan, and although she did not approve, she made extra food for Ayla and did not tell anyone about the plan. Inspired by the story (and delirious from the difficult birth), Ayla fled with Durc to her secret cave, where she planned to wait until the baby's naming day. She remembered a story in which a leader was forced to accept a deformed baby after the mother placed it in a tree for seven days. When Iza saw that Ayla's son was deformed, she informed Ayla that he would not be allowed to live and that it would be best for Ayla to dispose of him before Brun commanded her to do so. Only the thought that her baby would die gave her the strength for the final push. The younger men believed that Broud's Woolly Rhinoceros was responsible.Īyla had a difficult pregnancy and nearly died while giving birth most likely due to her youth. However, the men knew that Ursus never allowed a woman to swallow his essence. The old men believed that Mog-ur was responsible, because he was the only person with a totem stronger than the Cave Lion. Although every man would like to have claimed the credit, most people believed that proximity to the woman was the defining factor, and the two men who had spent the most time with Ayla were Creb and Broud. There was rampant speculation about which man's totem had defeated Ayla's Cave Lion. Everyone believed that her totem would never be defeated and, therefore, Ayla would be barren. Her Cave Lion totem was the second strongest totem (after Ursus). Ayla's pregnancy came as a shock to the entire clan. Durc also had a receding chin, and he was able to mimic the many sounds that his mother made.ĭurc was conceived during the summer of Ayla's tenth year as a result of being raped by Broud.

He had a large mouth, but his jaws were smaller than Clan jaws.

Durc had the large, round eyes of the Clan, but his nose was much smaller than normal. His head was not as long as a Clan head and had only a nominal occipital bun at the rear. (Clan babies had short, thick necks that could support the head at birth.)ĭurc had the heavy brow ridges of the Clan, but he had the high forehead of modern man.

At first, his neck was too weak to support his abnormally large head. His legs were longer and thinner than those of a Clan child. Durc had a combination of Neanderthal and modern features, which the clan regarded as a deformity.

The Clan of the Cave Bear, the Valley of Horses, the Mammoth ... by Jean M. Auel