Religion in Jean M Auel’s “Earth’s

Children” Seriesby Michel Clasquin-Johnson

The Clan of the Cave Bear1980

New York TimesBestseller:

#8Still in print in 2012

The Valley of Horses1982

New York TimesBestseller:

#2Still in print in 2012

The Mammoth Hunters1985

New York TimesBestseller:

#1Still in print in 2012

The Plains of Passage1990

New York TimesBestseller:

#1Still in print in 2012

The Shelters of Stone2002

New York TimesBestseller:

#1Still in print in 2012

The Land of Painted Caves2010

New York TimesBestseller:

#1Still in print in 2012

Ayla

Neanderthal Religion

Neanderthal Religion

Totemism (individual, clan & Clan-based)

Neanderthal Religion

Totemism (individual, clan & Clan-based)Caesaro-papism (mog-ur & clan leader)

Neanderthal Religion

Totemism (individual, clan & Clan-based)Caesaro-papism (mog-ur & clan leader)Rigid sex-role division

Cro-Magnon Religion

Cro-Magnon Religion

Goddess-worship (with vestiges of an earlier totemistic phase)

Cro-Magnon Religion

Goddess-worship (with vestiges of an earlier totemistic phase)Artistic representation of goddess

Cro-Magnon ReligionGoddess-

worship (with vestiges of an earlier totemistic phase)Artistic representation of goddess and animals

Cro-Magnon ReligionGoddess-worship

(with vestiges of an earlier totemistic phase)Artistic representations of goddess and animalsLeadership roles - both secular & religious - open to either sex & based on merit

Cro-Magnon Religion

Goddess-worship (with vestiges of an earlier totemistic phase)Artistic representations of goddess and animalsLeadership roles - both secular & religious - open to either sex & based on meritRelations between 2 kinds of leadership is ill-defined and constantly renegotiated

Neither species of human in Auel’s books is aware of the connection between sexuality and procreation.

A Common Theme Throughout the Series

Ayla’s discovery of this connection creates a major upheaval in the social and religious structure of Cro-Magnon society.

A Common Theme Throughout the Series

Final Thoughts

Both religions maintain existence of an afterlife

Neanderthals believe theywill enter a “world of the spirits”, while Cro-Magnons believe they will be called to the presence of the Mother. Neither condition is explored in detail.

Final Thoughts

Both religions maintain existence of an afterlifeNeither ties the afterlife to behaviour

no differentiation between the post-mortem destinations of the pious and the impious, only the need to avoid becoming a wandering evil spirit, temporarily caught between this life and the next.

Final Thoughts

Both religions maintain existence of an afterlifeNeither ties the afterlife to behaviourThis-worldly religions

Final ThoughtsBoth religions maintain existence of an afterlifeNeither ties the afterlife to behaviourThis-worldly religionsAuel’s Ice Age is no paradise

Thieves, rapists, tyrants and murderers frequent the pages of the "Earth's Children" series. Even the religious specialists are depicted warts and all. Mutual animosity and prejudice between the two species

of humans is a major theme.

Final ThoughtsBoth religions maintain existence of an afterlifeNeither ties the afterlife to behaviourThis-worldly religionsAuel’s Ice Age is no paradiseAuel’s two religions based on uncertain hypotheses

The "Earth's Children" series of books is a work of fiction. It is prehistoric fiction that tries to stick as closely as possible to the known facts of archaeology, intersperses observations from near-contemporary hunter-gatherer cultures, and presents them within an attractive narrative framework. This may not be exactly the Ice Age as it was. It certainly is the Ice Age as it should have been.

Conclusion