The Mammoth Hunters
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| Author | Jean M. Auel |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Earth's Children |
| Genre(s) | Historical novel |
| Publisher | Crown |
| Released | December 21, 1985 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0517556278 |
| Preceded by | The Valley of Horses |
| Followed by | The Plains of Passage |
The Mammoth Hunters is an historical fiction novel by Jean M. Auel released in 1985. It is the sequel to The Valley of Horses and third in the Earth's Children series.
[edit] Plot summary
This book starts off from the events at the end of The Valley of Horses. The main protagonists, a young woman named Ayla and a man named Jondalar, meet a group known as the Mamutoi, or Mammoth Hunters, with whom they live for a period of time. As their name would suggest, their hosts rely on mammoth not only for food but also for building materials and a number of other commodities - and indeed for spiritual sustenance. They make their home with the Lion Camp of the Mammoth Hunters, which features a number of respected Mamutoi. Wisest of their nation is Old Mamut, their eldest shaman and the leader of the entire Mamutoi priesthood, who becomes Ayla's mentor and colleague in the visionary and esoteric fields of thought. Observing Ayla's affinity with horses and wolves, Mamut begins to induct her into the ranks of the Mamuti.
More so than any other book in the Earth's Children series, The Mammoth Hunters relies on the tension created by the relationships between the characters to create a storyline, in that Ayla's susceptibility to being deceived or confused, caused by her upbringing among essentially honest people, leads the more complicated, obstinate, and passionate Jondalar to make multiple errors. The conflict in question is a love triangle between Jondalar, Ayla and Lion Camp member Ranec, a unique fellow in that his father (master flint knapper Wymez) traveled far to the south and mated a woman whose skin was as black as night, resulting in a brown-skinned son. Jondalar becomes jealous and is easily pushed away, and Ayla almost mates with Ranec before several last-minute revelations reunite them. Some fans have noted that author Jean Auel for making the book somewhat of a soap opera compared to her other works. Nonetheless, many readers (for instance, on Auel's fan pages) report having enjoyed the book. In the end, Ayla and Jondalar leave for the year-long return journey to Jondalar's people, the Zelandonii, a journey detailed in The Plains of Passage.
As in all her books, Auel's archaeological research is detailed, and the huts of mammoth bones which she describes the Mamutoi building are based on real finds. Similar finds, called Tuns, may be the source of ancient Celtic myths about the "Little People".
