The Mammoth Hunters

The third installment in Jean M. Auel's Earth's Children series is set during the Ice Age on the periglacial steppes. Ayla, a young Cro-Magnon woman raised by the Clan, a group of Neanderthals, and Jondalar, a Zelandonii flint knapper from far to the west, are exploring on horseback when they encounter a hunting party of the Mamutoi, the Mammoth Hunters. In the previous book, Ayla and Jondalar fell in love while living in her hidden valley, where she had tamed two horses: a mare named Whinney and a young stallion named Racer. Jondalar taught Ayla spoken language; previously she communicated only through the Clan's sign language.

Talut, the massive, red-haired headman of the Lion Camp, discovers a kinship connection to Jondalar: Tholie, a Mamutoi woman, was the cross-mate, or formally recognized partner from another group, of Jondalar's deceased brother Thonolan. Talut invites them to visit. Ayla fears rejection by the Others, as the Clan taught her that Cro-Magnon people are dangerous, but Talut promises her horses will not be harmed. When she demonstrates her bond with the animals by riding and whistling Whinney to her, the Mamutoi are awestruck.

At the Lion Camp's semisubterranean earthlodge, built from mammoth bones and sod, Ayla meets its members. Rydag, a sickly child of mixed Clan and Cro-Magnon heritage, was adopted by Nezzie, Talut's mate. The boy cannot speak but understands everything. He reminds Ayla of Durc, the son she was forced to leave behind when the Clan's leader Broud expelled her with a death curse, a ritual exile treating the cursed person as dead. Ranec, a dark-skinned carver, is immediately attracted to Ayla, provoking jealousy in Jondalar. Mamut, the Camp's ancient shaman, later reveals that decades earlier the grandmother of Ayla's adoptive Clan mother Iza healed his broken arm, deepening his conviction that Ayla was destined to join them.

During an evening gathering, Ayla reveals she was raised by the Clan. Frebec, a combative man, recoils with disgust, calling the Clan "flatheads," a derogatory Mamutoi term for Neanderthals, and labeling Rydag an abomination. Talut and the headwoman Tulie defend Ayla. Afterward, Ayla teaches Rydag the Clan sign for "mother," which he makes to Nezzie. The gesture moves Nezzie to tears, as it is the first time the boy has addressed her. The entire Camp gradually learns sign language, transforming how they perceive and treat Rydag.

Ayla proves her worth as healer and hunter, saving a toddler from choking, demonstrating skill with a sling and spear-thrower, and playing a critical role in a bison hunt by scouting on horseback. She and Jondalar return briefly to her valley for medicines and supplies. There, Jondalar confesses his painful past: a forbidden love for his sacred sexual teacher, a violent assault, exile, and lifelong guilt. He withholds his deeper fear that his people might reject Ayla because of her Clan background.

Back at the Lion Camp, Talut invites Ayla and Jondalar to become Mamutoi. Jondalar declines, citing his obligation to return home, but Ayla accepts. Mamut claims her as a daughter of the Mammoth Hearth, the spiritual center of the Mamutoi, declaring she was born to serve the Mother, the Mamutoi's chief deity. At the adoption ceremony, Frebec objects that Ayla has nothing of value. She demonstrates the firestone, iron pyrite that creates sparks when struck against flint, and promises one to each hearth. Frebec withdraws his objection.

That night, Ranec asks Ayla to share his bed. Raised by the Clan, where a woman never refuses a man's direct request, she complies without question. Jondalar hears them and is devastated. He withdraws emotionally, moving his sleeping furs away. Ayla is bewildered by his coldness, unable to see that jealousy and shame over her Clan background drive his retreat. Mamut explains that among the Others, the choice of a partner is always hers. She stays away from Ranec for a time, but Jondalar's continued distance convinces her he no longer loves her.

Over the long winter, Ayla integrates into Camp life. She learns crafts, invents a bone sewing needle with an eye for thread, and begins spiritual training with Mamut. On an outing with Deegie, a young woman of the Camp, she kills a lone wolf and rescues its sole surviving pup, whom she names Wolf. Even Frebec softens when the frightened pup seeks comfort at his hearth. When Frebec's mate Fralie goes into premature labor, he finally asks Ayla for help, and she delivers a tiny but living girl.

Ranec presses Ayla to Promise a formal union. A shared horseback ride with Jondalar leads to a passionate encounter, but afterward Jondalar is consumed with guilt, believing he forced her. He tells Ayla to stay away, and she concludes he does not want her. She agrees to announce her Promise to Ranec. During the Spring Festival, Mamut and Ayla perform a dangerous ceremony using a sacred Clan root that pulls them into the spirit world. They nearly cannot return from a terrifying void, but Jondalar's desperate cries reach Ayla and bring her back.

The Lion Camp travels to the Summer Meeting, a gathering of over a thousand Mamutoi. When older children taunt Rydag as an animal, Ayla confronts them and reveals she has a mixed son. Jondalar is the first to stand beside her, followed by the entire Lion Camp. Ayla's standing is cemented when Baby, the cave lion she raised years ago, appears near the encampment. She fearlessly approaches him, rides on his back, and sends him away. The display of power over a full-grown lion silences all opposition.

During a mammoth hunt, Wolf arrives at the hunting camp, sent by Rydag to summon Ayla. She races back to find the boy's heart failing. Rydag signs that he wants to be buried as a person. Ayla performs a full Clan burial, painting him with red ochre, naming him into the Clan, and wrapping his body in Durc's old carrying cloak, her last physical link to her son. Her silent, graceful ritual moves the entire gathering to tears.

On the morning of the Matrimonial ceremony, Jondalar slips away before dawn, unable to watch Ayla join with another man. Ayla wakes to find him gone with all his belongings. Nezzie asks what she truly wants. Ayla admits she loves Jondalar and was only with Ranec because she believed Jondalar had rejected her. She whistles for Whinney, commands Wolf to find Jondalar's trail, and rides after him.

She finds Jondalar walking alone on the steppes. Dropping to the ground in the Clan posture reserved for the most important communications, she tells him she wants to go with him. Jondalar confesses his shame at loving a woman raised by the Clan, his fear of rejection by his own people, and his realization that she matters more than any of it. He asks her to come home with him and share a hearth. They make love on the open steppes and reconcile completely.

Ayla returns Ranec's carved figurine, telling him she cannot join with him. He is devastated but accepts with painful grace. The Lion Camp gathers for an emotional farewell: Nezzie gives Ayla the Matrimonial tunic she and Tulie made, and Mamut warns Jondalar that Ayla's destiny is great and she will need his protection. Ayla and Jondalar ride away on the horses with Wolf running alongside, while Ranec watches them go, clutching the carving he made for Ayla.