Kids Are Cruel: Even a child she was a bit of a bitch, bullying her orphaned cousin Brukeval, who is implied to be of ' mixed spirits'. Happily Married: To Marthona. They have a loving and stable relationship, balancing each other nicely. Auel hints at another adversary early on with the reintroduction of Jondalar’s conniving ex, Marona, yet we don’t hear from her again until the end of the second act, which is where Auel shifts gears and the action begins. Big Beautiful Woman: Played with. Zelandoni no longer considers herself very attractive due to her large weight gain and getting on in years, though some people still find her pretty. She was once considered the most beautiful woman of the Zelandonii and was never a slender woman. Hated by All: Just about the entire cave detests him. It's implied he only has a handful of friends because he gives them free barma.

Ms. Fanservice: Wears very skimpy clothing, such as a red 'fringe' skirt (which is considered very provocative amongst the Zelandonii) and is well-known for her skill with ' the Mother's Gift of Pleasure'.Animal Motif: The golden eagle. He is said to be restless with a love of travelling and adventure like an eagle. The One That Got Away: For Bodoa. She was in love with him as a young woman, but he chose to mate Marthona over her and she never mated anyone else, throwing herself into her work instead. Formerly Fit: She was always considered " voluptuous", but is now obese. As a result, she finds it more difficult to get around long distances, though her mind is as brilliant as ever. To Ayla, because despite being a foreigner, she has higher status than him. He fails to notice it’s possibly because she actually contributes to the cave with her hunting and healing skills. 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.

Physiologically, the Clan are heavier and broader but also shorter than the people of The Others. They are very slow to embrace change and to innovate, and they still chase after animals to spear them directly, whereas the Cro-Magnons are enthusiastic about innovation and have moved on to projectile spears. The Clan's tools, clothing, and household implements are similarly less refined and sometimes less effective than those of their Cro-Magnon counterparts, whose implements and other goods are more technologically sophisticated. Children Are Innocent: She gets in a bit of trouble for teasing her cousin Bokovan; she says she’s right that Bokovan won’t ever be able to have a baby because only women give birth, but Ayla explains it’s still wrong for her to tease him about it. Her parents’ marital issues in the sixth book clearly affects her, though she doesn't fully understand what is happening. One of the most beautiful women ever to grace the silver screen, Hedy Lamarr also designed a secret weapon against Nazi Germany.Jondalar frowned at his brother, then grinned sheepishly. "Yes she is, but, as dangerous as they are, I always hate to kill a cave lion if I don't have to. They are so beautiful, so lithe and graceful in the way they move. Cave lions don't have much to be afraid of. Their strength gives them confidence." He glanced at Ayla with a glint of pride and love. "I always thought Ayla's Cave Lion totem was right for her." Discomfited by showing his strong inner feelings for her, a hint of a flush colored his cheeks. "But I do think this is a time when spear-throwers could be very useful." 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 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. The second part is mainly about the caves they visit. In many of the Sacred caves the Ancients, the people before the Zelandonii, left drawings. Ayla meets many other Zelandoni and one of them gives her a pouch of dried herbs smelling faintly of mint. Ayla also discovers that the Clan visit some of the sacred caves as well.

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.Abhorrent Admirer: A downplayed example to Jondalar. At the end of the last book, when Jondalar offers to take in Tremeda and her kids and provide for them after Laramar abandons them, Tremeda tries flirting with him a bit and suggests she'll be his "second woman". Jondalar shuts her down immediately, making it clear he's only helping her out and that he in no way thinks of her in such terms. What makes you think so?" Joharran said. He was always surprised at Ayla's wealth of knowledge of four-legged hunters, but for some reason it was also at times like this that he noticed her unusual accent more. In the third part of the book, Ayla is marking the passage of the sun and moon's phases as part of her training as an acolyte. One night she is distracted and decides to share Pleasures with Jondalar, starting a baby. However, most of her Cave leaves for the Summer Meeting, but Ayla stays behind until Midsummer so she can finish her observation of the celestial bodies. During this time she takes care of Marthona, her mother-in-law, as well as the others in her Cave. One night Ayla makes some mint tea, actually the dried herb mixture given to her in the second part of the book, and is Called. If an acolyte is Called, then she will be tested by the Zelandonia, and initiated into the Zelandonia if the Calling is true. Ayla puts down her drink and runs along a river into a cave, where she spends the next three days hallucinating. Wolf wakes her from her visions, and she finds herself in the dark cave. She allows Wolf to lead her out of the cave, but not before finding a bag hidden there by Madroman, an unskilled acolyte who faked his Calling, and who has had a deep-seated hatred of Jondalar since adolescence.