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Archeology for Jean Auel fans
Archeology for Jean Auel fans, including all the archaeological sites referred to by Jean Auel in her series of books about the ice age heroine, Ayla.
Seventh Cave South, Chapter 21 Land of Painted Caves
Now called Pech Merle, this is one of the few prehistoric cave painting sites in France which remain open to the general public. Extending for more than a mile from the entrance are caverns the walls of which are painted with dramatic murals from 25 000 years ago. The walls of seven of the chambers at Pech Merle have fresh, lifelike images of a woolly mammoth, spotted horses, bovids, reindeer, handprints, and some human figures. Footprints of children, preserved in what was once clay, have been found more than a kilometre underground.
Third Cave (South), the Most Ancient Sacred Site, Chapter 27 - 28 Land of Painted Caves
Now called Chauvet Cave, in the valley of the Ardèche River in France, it is filled with paintings, engravings and drawings created more than 30 000 years ago, of cave lions, mammoths, rhinos, bison, cave bears and horses. It contains the earliest known cave paintings, as well as other evidence of Upper Paleolithic life. A later occupation left little but a child's footprints, the charred remains of ancient hearths and carbon smoke stains from torches that lit the caves. After the child's visit to the cave 26 000 years ago, evidence suggests that the cave had been untouched until discovered in 1994. The footprints may be the oldest human footprints that can be dated accurately

La Madeleine. This is known as 'River Front' in the EC books.

Laugerie Haute, known in the EC books as The Ninth Cave - Arts and Crafts

L'Abri des Marseilles, between Laugerie Haute and Laugerie Basse

The Dordogne - scene for Book 5, Shelters of Stone. Scenes from the Dordogne, cooking Clan style - preparation of ptarmigan, and using a firestone to make a fire.

Laugerie Basse, known in the EC books as Down River - Projects

Dolni Vestonice. EC fans know this as the place of the S'Armunai, where Attaroa set herself up as despotic leader of the group.

Font de Gaume in the French Dordogne. In the EC books, this is known as The Deep of Fountain Rocks, where the headland looks like the face of the Mother.

Mezhirich. This is known as Mammoth Camp in the EC series.

Mezin. Known to EC fans as Wolf Camp, it is located at Mezin, in the Ukraine.

Shanidar Cave in Iraq. The Clan Cave in the EC series is located on the Crimean Peninsula, but the original was located hundreds of kilometres away in Iraq, and is a very important Neanderthal site. The skeletons corresponding to Creb and Iza are from there.

The Clan Fishing site - Sudak on the Crimean coast

The Venus of Willendorf. This is Jondalar's sculpture of the mother.

The Venus of Brassempouy. This is the sculpture of Ayla.

Sculpture of 'Whinney', Ayla's horse.

The Sacred Root -
The sacred root is not Datura, however there is reason for thinking that Jean used at least the physical form and growth habits of mandrake when she created her "sacred root". The effects, however, are closer those of the iboga plant.

Golden Thread - Ayla's contraceptive.
Inconsistencies in the EC books

Geology for Earth Children fans
Maps of the Earth's Children Series including a map of Journeys in the Land of Painted Caves, the last book in the series.
Mammoth Cave Chapter 14 Land of Painted Caves
Fourth Cave South, Chapter 20 Land of Painted Caves


Lepenski Vir - a mesolithic site on the Donau. While this is not the exact site as described by Auel, it is in the same general area as the Sharamudoi, who consist of the Shamudoi and the Ramudoi. The Shamudoi live on the land, while the Ramudoi live on floating docks moored to the shore of the Great Mother River, and ply their boats up and down the Danube in the region known as the Iron Gates Gorge. 
