The Clan of the Cave Bear
by Jean M. Auel · first published 1900
12mentions
1recommended by
10HN commenters
2009–2026first – last mentioned
10% recommend90% neutral
The Clan of the Cave Bear is a 1980 novel and epic work of prehistoric fiction by Jean M. Auel about prehistoric times. It is the first book in the Earth's Children book series, which speculates on the possibilities of interactions between Neanderthal and modern Cro-Magnon humans.
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Back in the day, I loved The Clan of the Cave Bear and sequels by Jean M. Auel. As I recall, she characterized Neanderthals as having better memories, and more dependent on stored procedures. But I have no clue whether there was any basis for that.
on “The Sound of Madness” ↗…read much more quickly. As an illustration let me describe the one time I measured my speed on a long piece of work. I have a habit of reading in the bath, and one day in high school I began reading Clan of the Cave Bear at the beginning of a bath. I got sucked in, read the whole book, then finished the bath. My mother wondered where I had been all day. I told her the story. She didn't believe that I could have done…
on “Ask HN: Speedreading - myth vs reality? your thoughts.” ↗Jean Auel's The Clan of the Cave Bear book-series explores the possibilities of Neanderthal/Cro-Magnon interaction, but this article brings up a whole new set of intriguing plot twists.
on “A chimp-pig hybrid origin for humans?” ↗I have a good reading speed. When I'm caught up in a book, it increases because I want to know what happens next. The fastest that I ever was timed when I read Clan of the Cave Bear in a single sitting. Afterwards my mother and I worked out that I'd done it at an average of 900 wpm. So no, I don't find that reading fast hurts my enjoyment of fiction. At least some kinds of fiction.
on “The Truth About Speed Reading” ↗Here's what's weird. I can read a book faster than I can "digest" it. I first learned my reading speed by accident after I read Clan of the Cave Bear in a single sitting. Immediately afterwards I could not summarize it, though I could recognize any passage in the book. The next day, I could summarize it. I describe it as feeling like I have a pipeline.…
on “People who are good at reading have different brains: study” ↗Slight off topic, but I wonder how accurate the references in novel/series "The Clan of the Cave Bear" where medicine man/woman skills are mainly handed down from one generation to next. However also handed down is the skill to take tiny amounts of unknown herbs or potential foodstuffs and observe effects…
on “How do people learn to cook a poisonous plant safely?” ↗> It's only since 2010 that there's evidence of interbreeding. But Clan of the Cave Bear was published in 1980!
on “More evidence that Neanderthals were ‘absorbed’ by humans, not wiped out” ↗Reminds me of something that happened in HS. I had a very religious teacher who went on a rant one day about the book 'The Clan of the Cave Bear'. Having read, and loved, the book I was at first very interested in his opinion on it. He completely misrepresented both the book and the things that happened in the book. I was actually astounded,…
on “Letter regarding proposed free expression statement from MIT” ↗…don't have space for them, so her copies either got sold or trashed when she recently died of a very treatable illness that she elected to not treat or mention to anyone for several years. I did keep her Clan of the Cave Bear books (Children of the Earth?) because the cover art always enchanted me, and I judge books by their covers. I also kept a few of her romance novels. She never talked to me about sex beyond "wear a condom"…
on “The most unusual magazine ever published: Man, Myth and Magic” ↗> In the 1990s hair-dragging rape scenes in the Clan of the Cave Bear novels (20 million copies sold by 1990) caused the books to be banned from American public libraries. I think I read this book in the 90s and yes, there's a rape (maybe more?) but it's an exception as…
on “'Neanderthals Among Us' review” ↗> But it's been so long ago, I may misremember. Therefore a useless comment. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Clan_of_the_Cave_Bear > Ayla's main antagonist in the novel is Broud, son of the leader Brun, who feels that she takes credit and attention away from him. As the two mature, the hatred in Broud's heart festers. When they…
on “'Neanderthals Among Us' review” ↗> The stories that pop into my mind! Clan of the Cave Bear ?
on “Long genetic and social isolation in Neanderthals before their extinction” ↗