The Land of Painted Caves (Earth's Children 6)

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Romantic Runner-Up: To Ayla, for Jondalar. To the point where even though she succeeds in seducing Jondalar in the sixth book, it's still made blatantly obvious that he'll always prefer Ayla. They know to stay out of the way of those lions, but I don't see Wolf," Ayla said. "I'd better whistle for him." Fantastic Racism: The Zelandonii are often very hostile towards so-called flatheads (Neanderthals) and those of ' mixed spirits'. Some people are more indifferent towards them, while others actually become tolerant towards them, but the prejudice towards them is clearly deeply ingrained in their culture. It's theorised that this may be because many generations ago, the Zelandonii and the Clan shared territory and ended up getting into fights over it, causing ongoing distrust and resentment on both sides. Everyone Loves Blondes: She’s very beautiful with pale blonde hair. However, it should be noted that her unpleasant personality is seen as making her less attractive in spite of her looks, and the one man she really wants has no interest in her.

The release of Land of Painted Caves was heavily promoted. More than any previous book. In Australia billboards promoted the release. Zelandonii-after all, some leaders were women, including, at one time, Joharran and Jondalar's mother-such behavior from a woman would not have been tolerated in the Clan, the ones who raised her. The Clan's reluctance to change is depicted by Auel as a function of their cognition; they are presented as dependent upon their racial- genetic memory. The average Clan child needs only be 'reminded' of a thing to know it permanently, though skilled tasks still require repetitive practice. Furthermore, the need to encode everything into a child's brain has increased the average Neanderthal head size to the point that, by the time of the first novel, women of the Clan are having trouble giving birth to their large-headed babies—a sign that their evolutionary strategy has run its course.

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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. Beautiful Singing Voice: She is considered the First in part because of her beautiful contralto singing voice, which helps her to communicate with the spirit world. The Leader: He’s the leader of the Ninth Cave. He inherits his leadership skills from his mother and father, who were both leader before him; it's indicated he learnt from Marthona in particular (seeing as his father died when he was too young to properly remember him) and his leadership style is reminiscent of her's.

Whether accurately or not, Auel has incorporated sex into her prehistoric culture in a number of unique ways. While neither Clan nor Other society requires monogamy, a major difference is that in the former, sex can be treated as a purely physical need, whereas in the latter, it is always imbued with something of the sacred. For the Others, nothing is more abhorrent than the idea of sex without consent, and sexual rituals form a significant part of their culture.

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Marona calls Zelandoni (Zolena) a "fat old woman". Zelandoni simply points out that she herself was once considered the most beautiful woman in the Ninth Cave and is living proof that no one stays young and beautiful forever. In the meanwhie, she's become the Zelandonii equivalent of The Pope and is respected by all, whereas most people agree that, aside from looking hot, Marona has few positive traits. 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. Amicable Exes: With Jondalar. They remain good friends even though they’re no longer in a relationship. Zolena obviously cares for him and is happy when he brings Ayla home, announcing he intends to make a hearth with her. Happily Married: Despite the trouble with Bodoa, he and Marthona were happy together for a few years, before he died. 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.