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**** Remember, too, that the Clan is not only incapable of lying, but their body language is refined enough that others can even tell when someone is withholding information. Ayla, who is an Outsider, ''is'' capable of both lying and concealing the truth, but she has learned from the Clan that you just don't do that, no matter what the circumstances. It's possible she didn't even know she ''could'' conceal the full truth.
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** This could be explained as TranslationConvention. The Clan's language is vastly different than English - sign language plus posture, facial expressions, etc. instead of spoken words - so every time we read characters' conversations, the words we read are a translation. Likely, when Ayla, Iza and Creb are quoted as saying "I love you" this is a translation of them making the gestures the Clan use to show love. Creb telling someone else he loves Ayla is more likely to be an error, but it's not impossible the Clan has gestures or actions to express love in the 3rd person.
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** It seems like she didn't have an editor for the last few books. So much repetition, etc too.
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** As for humans being able to mimic sounds other animals make fairly accurately, that's also possible for some people, usually with years of practice; some voice actors have even basically built their careers around mimicking animals.
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** In regards to being able to tell if someone's lying via body language, it is possible. If you're trained to observe body language or non-verbal communication and their meanings, you can make pretty accurate interpretations of behavior, including being to tell if someone's being deceitful. That said, interpretations of non-verbal communication are subjective to a degree and you can't be 100% accurate; you also have to consider that in some cultures certain gestures, movements and so on can have different meanings. Ayla's abilities are perhaps a bit exaggerated, but considering she's been essentially trained to observe and accurately interpret body language since childhood, it's not unreasonable she'd be pretty good at it.
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** Not to mention the timing is... Bewildering to say the least. Horses were domesticated around 4000 BC - in other words, long after the agricultural revolution. I am not sure if this one can't be simply chalked up to DatedHistory, but still, come the fuck on. People running around on horses at the same time Neanderthals are still alive?! According the modern research, that's just stupid. Also, the first horses to be domesticated probably weren't ridden, but rather used as a source of meat and milk.
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*** As for that first point - no, it most definitely isn't reasonable, if the archaeological and genetic evidence is to be believed. According to them, genes that make modern Europeans and eastern Asians paler are only about 18 000 years old, at most, and many populations kept their darker coloration well into the neolithic era (see Cheddar man). Not to mention blonde hair, for which earliest evidence is about 15 000 years old, and blue eye colour, which was proven to be widespread by the mesolithic.
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*** Ayla is a child in this scene, less than ten years old, who knows she's in big trouble and is being told to explain herself by authority figures. She probably didn't think to omit that detail and just told the truth exactly to avoid getting into more trouble.
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** She would have had to explain where she found the sling she practiced with, but could have simply said she found it on the ground and felt compelled to pick it up, and that she watched later practice sessions.
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** Probably forgot. Iza's last words to Ayla are "I always loved you best." And if you want to count the film as canon, James Remar as Creb has a beautiful moment where he says "I love Ayla. She is the daughter I never had."
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* In the first book, when the men question Ayla about her sling-hunting, Zoug remarks that Vorn has been training for just as many years. Was it really necessary for Ayla to ''volunteer'' the information that she ''started on the same day''? Things could have gone differently had she kept that specific detail to herself.
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* In the first book, when the men question Ayla about her sling-hunting, Zoug remarks that Vorn has been training for just as many years. years as she. Was it really necessary for Ayla to ''volunteer'' the information that she ''started started on the ''exact same day''? Things could just might have gone differently had she kept that specific detail to herself.
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* In the first book, when the men question Ayla about her sling-hunting, she answers a question about when she began using one. Zoug then points out that Vorn has been training just as long. Was it really necessary for Ayla to ''volunteer'' the information that she ''started on the same day''? Things could have gone differently had she kept that specific detail to herself.
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* In the first book, when the men question Ayla about her sling-hunting, she answers a question about when she began using one. Zoug then points out remarks that Vorn has been training for just as long.many years. Was it really necessary for Ayla to ''volunteer'' the information that she ''started on the same day''? Things could have gone differently had she kept that specific detail to herself.
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*In the first book, when the men question Ayla about her sling-hunting, she answers a question about when she began using one. Zoug then points out that Vorn has been training just as long. Was it really necessary for Ayla to ''volunteer'' the information that she ''started on the same day''? Things could have gone differently had she kept that specific detail to herself.
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** In ''The Mammoth Hunters'' Ranec is half African - his father had taken a Journey to Africa where he mated with an African woman. Ranec is most definitely black. Also, Jondolar's father's second wife is Asian, and their daughter is half-Asian. Something that always bothered me to no end once I re-read the series for the first time and picked up on it. In ''Valley of Horses'' Ayla tells Jondalar that the Clan has no sign/word for "I love you". Instead, they express the sentiment by showing it, say if Ayla prepares Creb's favourite tea for him in the morning. But in ''Clan of the Cave Bear'' Ayla, Iza and Creb frequently toss "I love you" around in conversation. Certainly they express it through actions as well, but they most definitely use signs/words to say it too. Did the author just forget while writing the second book, or am I missing something?
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** In ''The Mammoth Hunters'' Ranec is half African - his father had taken a Journey to Africa where he mated with an African woman. Ranec is most definitely black. Also, Jondolar's father's second wife is Asian, and their daughter is half-Asian. half-Asian.
* Something that always bothered me to no end once I re-read the series for the first time and picked up on it. In ''Valley of Horses'' Ayla tells Jondalar that the Clan has no sign/word for "I love you". Instead, they express the sentiment by showing it, say if Ayla prepares Creb's favourite tea for him in the morning. But in ''Clan of the Cave Bear'' Ayla, Iza and Creb frequently toss "I love you" around in conversation. Certainly they express it through actions as well, but they most definitely use signs/words to say it too. Did the author just forget while writing the second book, or am I missing something?
* Something that always bothered me to no end once I re-read the series for the first time and picked up on it. In ''Valley of Horses'' Ayla tells Jondalar that the Clan has no sign/word for "I love you". Instead, they express the sentiment by showing it, say if Ayla prepares Creb's favourite tea for him in the morning. But in ''Clan of the Cave Bear'' Ayla, Iza and Creb frequently toss "I love you" around in conversation. Certainly they express it through actions as well, but they most definitely use signs/words to say it too. Did the author just forget while writing the second book, or am I missing something?
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** In ''The Mammoth Hunters'' Ranec is half African - his father had taken a Journey to Africa where he mated with an African woman. Ranec is most definitely black. Also, Jondolar's father's second wife is Asian, and their daughter is half-Asian.
* Something that always bothered me to no end once I re-read the series for the first time and picked up on it. In ''Valley of Horses'' Ayla tells Jondalar that the Clan has no sign/word for "I love you". Instead, they express the sentiment by showing it, say if Ayla prepares Creb's favourite tea for him in the morning. But in ''Clan of the Cave Bear'' Ayla, Iza and Creb frequently toss "I love you" around in conversation. Certainly they express it through actions as well, but they most definitely use signs/words to say it too. Did the author just forget while writing the second book, or am I missing something?
* Something that always bothered me to no end once I re-read the series for the first time and picked up on it. In ''Valley of Horses'' Ayla tells Jondalar that the Clan has no sign/word for "I love you". Instead, they express the sentiment by showing it, say if Ayla prepares Creb's favourite tea for him in the morning. But in ''Clan of the Cave Bear'' Ayla, Iza and Creb frequently toss "I love you" around in conversation. Certainly they express it through actions as well, but they most definitely use signs/words to say it too. Did the author just forget while writing the second book, or am I missing something?
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** In ''The Mammoth Hunters'' Ranec is half African - his father had taken a Journey to Africa where he mated with an African woman. Ranec is most definitely black. Also, Jondolar's father's second wife is Asian, and their daughter is half-Asian.
*half-Asian. Something that always bothered me to no end once I re-read the series for the first time and picked up on it. In ''Valley of Horses'' Ayla tells Jondalar that the Clan has no sign/word for "I love you". Instead, they express the sentiment by showing it, say if Ayla prepares Creb's favourite tea for him in the morning. But in ''Clan of the Cave Bear'' Ayla, Iza and Creb frequently toss "I love you" around in conversation. Certainly they express it through actions as well, but they most definitely use signs/words to say it too. Did the author just forget while writing the second book, or am I missing something?something?
* Regarding Ayla's ability to imitate the sounds animals make, from a horse's whinny to a lion's roar to a bird's song - is it even at all possible? Can a human being duplicate sounds like that? Do we have the lung power and the vocal chords for it? The books don't state that she's merely good at imitating these sounds - she can do it well enough that not only other people are fooled, but animals as well. For me this has always gone beyond my willing suspension of disbelief, though is it actually a case of RealityIsUnrealistic? While we're at it, is it also genuinely possible to always be able to tell when a person is lying based solely on body language? Lie detectors aren't able to get the truth 100 % of the time, so can a human being do so just by observation? Ayla can do it to the point where she can win most of the games the Mamutoi play.
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* Regarding Ayla's ability to imitate the sounds animals make, from a horse's whinny to a lion's roar to a bird's song - is it even at all possible? Can a human being duplicate sounds like that? Do we have the lung power and the vocal chords for it? The books don't state that she's merely good at imitating these sounds - she can do it well enough that not only other people are fooled, but animals as well. For me this has always gone beyond my willing suspension of disbelief, though is it actually a case of RealityIsUnrealistic? While we're at it, is it also genuinely possible to always be able to tell when a person is lying based solely on body language? Lie detectors aren't able to get the truth 100 % of the time, so can a human being do so just by observation? Ayla can do it to the point where she can win most of the games the Mamutoi play.
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** Actually, the evidence points both ways. By the time the books are set in, most of Cro Magnon humans have already branched into most of the proto ethnic subgroups. By that time it's entirely reasonable for Cro Magnon humans to be fair skinned/haired. Additionally, in one of the later books (Shelters of Stone, or the one preceding it) Ayla and Jondalar encounter a Neanderthal and his mate, both of whom are described as being fair haired and skinned. It seems that the clan Ayla lived with, and their relative clans, were simply a branch of Neanderthals with dark skin and hair.
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** Actually, the evidence points both ways. By the time the books are set in, most of Cro Magnon humans have already branched into most of the proto ethnic subgroups. By that time it's entirely reasonable for Cro Magnon humans to be fair skinned/haired. Additionally, in one of the later books (Shelters (Plains of Stone, or the one preceding it) Passage) Ayla and Jondalar encounter a Neanderthal and his mate, both of whom are described as being fair haired and skinned. It seems that the clan Ayla lived with, and their relative clans, were simply a branch of Neanderthals with dark skin and hair.
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* Something that always bothered me to no end once I re-read the series for the first time and picked up on it. In ''Valley of Horses'' Ayla tells Jondalar that the Clan has no sign/word for "I love you". Instead, they express the sentiment by showing it, say if Ayla prepares Creb's favourite tea for him in the morning. But in ''Clan of the Cave Bear'' Ayla, Iza and Creb frequently toss "I love you" around in conversation. Certainly they express it through actions as well, but they most definitely use signs/words to say it too. Did the author just forget while writing the second book, or am I missing something?
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** In ''The Mammoth Hunters'' Ranec is half African - his father had taken a Journey to Africa where he mated with an African woman. Ranec is most definitely black. Also, Jondolar's father's second wife is Asian, and their daughter is half-Asian.
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** It's outright stated that the Neanderthals are just as intelligent as any homo sapiens, they just lack certain abilities that we have and vice versa, because we evolved along slightly different paths. The Neanderthals have genetic memory; each Neanderthal has access to a vast well of information spanning back over a hundred thousand years, and this memory is gender divided. This is why the backs of their brains are so big and why Ayla is such a good medicine woman; she was taught by Iza, a Neanderthal who knows more information about the medicinal qualities of more plants than any Cro-Magnon could ever hope to learn. However, Cro-Magnon's have evolved large fore brains, and this is the reason that we can abstract ideas and concepts so well. This is why we can count better, and why we can generate ideas and apply them to the real world with so much more ease, and thus why our technology is already beyond theirs.
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** He wouldn't have had to admit he'd learned signs from the Clan to have taught them to Rydag; he could've just pretended to have made them up himself.
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**It's mentioned several times in the first book that Neanderthals, while related to Cro-Magnons, are "a different branch on the tree of man", to paraphrase the author. Nowhere (aside from the prejudice/ignorance of Cro-Magnon characters) does the author state that Neanderthals are "stupid" or that Cro-Magnons are "superior". They just evolved differently.
