The Mammoth Hunters (Earth's Children, #3)

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The Mammoth Hunters (Earth's Children #3)

3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 · rating details · 29,338 ratings · 727 reviews

Once again Jean M. Auel opens the door of a time long past to reveal an age of wonder and danger at the dawn of the modern human race. With all the consummate storytelling artistry and vivid authenticity she brought to The Clan of the Cave Bear and its sequel, The Valley of Horses, Jean M. Auel continues the breathtaking epic journey of the woman called Ayla.

Riding Whinne...more

Paperback, 724 pages

Published April 2002 by Bantam (first published 1985)

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Feb 17, 2012 Crystal Starr Light rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, so-bad-it-s-good, anachronistic-heroine, audiobook, banned-books

WARNING: This book has caused me a lot of heartache, and as I review it, I may end up in a ball of mush, blathering unintelligibly.

When we last left Ayla and Jondalar, they were returning to Jondalar's family, standing smiling as they met one of the Mamutoi. Now, Ayla is quivering in fear, afraid that this Other is going to see her and immediately know, somehow, that she lived with the Clan and hate her (this is only 1 of the many continuity conflicts in this story). Jondalar, being the perfect...more

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Oct 26, 2007 Plant Girl rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

This book could have been much shorter and I probably would have enjoyed it more! Is she getting paid per word? ha. The characters became more weak and aggravating, their silly storylines were drawn on for far too long. Still, it was somewhat enjoyable, but I don't know if I want to continue reading this series (I'm taking a break!) ha.

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Jul 12, 2011 Goldenwattle rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The short rundown:
A page turner, as in: Pedantic description – turn page. Tell not show – turn page. Angst and more angst – turn page. Repeat history (telling) again and again and – turn page. Describe all actions in minute detail – turn page. Another long description of “pleasures” – turn pages.

The longer rundown:
All actions ‘must’ be described in mind numbing detail. Ditto descriptions, feelings, etc. AND then repeated later. Does anyone actually read these stories word by word by word, or do...more The short rundown:
A page turner, as in: Pedantic description – turn page. Tell not show – turn page. Angst and more angst – turn page. Repeat history (telling) again and again and – turn page. Describe all actions in minute detail – turn page. Another long description of “pleasures” – turn pages.

The longer rundown:
All actions ‘must’ be described in mind numbing detail. Ditto descriptions, feelings, etc. AND then repeated later. Does anyone actually read these stories word by word by word, or do they, like me, skim large angst/description ridden sections? And that takes up a lot of the book.
I hear often that authors should show, not tell, and after reading this book, glazing over and page turning past large sections of telling (often repeating what has been told before) I fully appreciate that advice. We did not need to be told about things that were not relevant to the story. An example: Telling how wolves would be selected for pets because they had different features to the norm. Smaller, a different colour, etc. Yes eventually becoming pet dogs of different breeds, but telling this as part of the story was unnecessary, because it is NOT part of this story.
The magical colds are back again. The tribe meets no-one, but they catch colds. Obviously the people in Ayla’s time did not need to catch a virus. Their colds are magic spells brought by evil spirits or something. Someone please tell the author a cold is caused by a virus and they need to catch the virus from another person who has it or carries it. The tribe doesn’t meet anyone else to catch it from.
Ayla and Jondalar not talking about their feelings to each other for months, each thinking the other doesn’t love them. Please spare me; this was unbelievable and even corny, and it’s so overdone.
This is the third book in this series I have read. I really would like to follow Ayla’s journey across prehistoric Europe, but with the extreme overwriting and the author’s habit of telling rather than showing, I’m not sure I can face another of her books. But time will tell. This book is just short of 800 pages, but the story could have been told in 200 pages and been far the better for it.(less)

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Aug 10, 2007 Kelly Dubs rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This has been my least favorite out of the Earths Children series, although I find it hard to dislike any of the books.
The love story in this one starts out strong, and by the time you get half way through, you are so sick of the misunderstandings and hurt feelings that you feel no one could be that stupid about love.
For some reason, both of the main characters bothered me to some degree in this book. Aside from the love story being obnoxious, you half expect that Jondolar has reverted back to a...more

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Mar 13, 2008 Ellen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have a huge Love hate relationship with these books. The author repeats herself over and over again; she treats the reader like they're stupid and cannot remember a thing. In fact I believe any good editor could cut these books down by hundreds of pages. Yet, this series is addicting. The first one is by far the best but be prepared to be sucked in - if you read the first you will want to read them all.

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Jun 02, 2008 Luis rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was excited about getting into the third installment. It started out very well. Once again, you are learning about what life was like back in those days. There is quite a bit of details thrown in about how structures were built or certain rituals were held, just as in the first two books. I was a bit frustrated with the whole love thing between Ayla and Jondalar. I think it was taken a bit too far.

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Mar 12, 2012 NickySatia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: series, history, romance, chicklit

*contains spoilers*

I'm rereading the Earth's Children series by Jean M. Auel. I've been having some migraines and I find that during those times I like to return to books that I've already read (in this case: multiple times).

Even though I was very dissapointed by the lastest book 'The land of the painted caves', Ayla's story still interests me. This book, 'The Mammoth Hunters', is one of the ones I like best in the series. To be honest; it seems to me that the uneven books in the series (#1,#3,...more

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May 23, 2010 Christopher H. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, historical-fiction, american-literature, favorites, anthropology-archaeology, read-in-2010, american-authors-translators, favorite-rereads

The Mammoth Hunters is the third book in Jean Auel's incredible "Earth's Children" series. This book is largely the tale of Ayla's and Jondalar's time with the 'Mamutoi' peoples of the Upper Paleolithic Ice-Age country of what is now the steppes of the Ukraine. While the plotting of this novel, in my opinion, did bog down a bit with the amount of time spent on the romantic triangle between Ayla, Jondalar, and Ranec, the Mamutoi ivory carver; I was amazed at the amount of anthropological and arch...more The Mammoth Hunters is the third book in Jean Auel's incredible "Earth's Children" series. This book is largely the tale of Ayla's and Jondalar's time with the 'Mamutoi' peoples of the Upper Paleolithic Ice-Age country of what is now the steppes of the Ukraine. While the plotting of this novel, in my opinion, did bog down a bit with the amount of time spent on the romantic triangle between Ayla, Jondalar, and Ranec, the Mamutoi ivory carver; I was amazed at the amount of anthropological and archaeological detail that Ms. Auel interpreted and utilized throughout.

There have been significant archaeological discoveries and research carried on associated with several very important Upper Paleolithic sites over the past thirty-years in this region of the Ukraine. Major early human ice-age settlements have been discovered and excavated at Sungir, Mezhirich, Mezin, and Kostenki. All of which indicate the presence of sophisticated peoples that lived in multi-family dwellings and actively hunted the large animals that occupied this incredibly harsh environment. Ms. Auel's novel really does provide a wonderful window into a time period so long past (approximately 25,000 years ago). Her careful attention to detail and historical accuracy is evident and impressive as one reads about how these peoples may have constructed their dwellings, hunted the large animals for meat, gathered plants for food and medicines, and exchanged goods and ideas with other bands of humans.

Reading this novel, and indeed all of the novels in the "Earth's Children" series, always causes me to spend some time seriously reflecting upon our human origins; and just how incredibly difficult it was for anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens) to have persisted and expanded across the planet starting some 100,000 years ago. This series of wonderful novels gives us some valuable insights into a part of that vast rich human heritage during a period of time during the ice-age in eastern Europe and western Russia.(less)

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Apr 22, 2009 Kevin rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Was very disappointed in this book. It just went on and on and on without getting anywhere. It would have definitely been better if it were half as long. I really liked the first two books. I thought the Clan was well done - their differences with the Others were well explained and consistent with how they lived. The second one was an interesting study of someone living alone. During Valley of the Horses, Ayla's inventions and innovations started to stack up a bit and were starting to edge into...more

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Aug 29, 2008 Danielle rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks

I couldn't wait for this book to be over because I got so freakin' tired of all the "he doesn't love me" "she doesn't love me" crap! I wanted to shake Ayla and Jondalar and the author for going on and on and on and on about their unrequited love. Either freakin' say "I love you" or move on!!! Another thing I didn't like is that this book (and the previous one) had the most boring repetitive sex scenes. This one didn't have as much sex as the last one but every time they started getting in to it...more

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Jan 20, 2009 Allison rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, read-in-2009, historical-fiction, romance

The Mammoth Hunters is the third book in Jean Auel’s Earth’s Children series. With as good as the first two books in the series are, The Mammoth Hunters is a that much more of a disappointment. Last the reader left Ayla, she and Jondalar were setting out on a journey, and not long into it, they encounter a camp of Mamutoi—mammoth hunters. Wintering with the Mamutoi gives Ayla the opportunity to live with the Others, as up until now she only remembers living with the Clan and on her own. As with...more

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Apr 23, 2013 Swankivy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When we last left Ayla in the previous book, she was following her lover Jondalar to go meet his people--the Mammoth Hunters. Ayla was born to these people but doesn't remember anything about it because she was raised by Neanderthals, so this is going to be scary but eye-opening for her, theoretically. While I liked the idea of her getting her culture shock and actually having a chance to interact with other men and other women, I didn't like that so much of it was about sex, and I didn't like h...more

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Feb 13, 2013 Cysha rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Unsatisfactory
The Mammoth Hunters
Jean Auel
The Mammoth Hunters is the third book in the Earth’s Children series, which is composed of six books. The series takes place in the past during Ice Age at the dawn of modern humans. The book, and the series, is aimed at a more mature audience; adults. The writing can be difficult to read and follow if one is not serious about reading and enjoying the book fully. The book is entirely fictional, however, there is scientific research incorporated into the...more Unsatisfactory
The Mammoth Hunters
Jean Auel
The Mammoth Hunters is the third book in the Earth’s Children series, which is composed of six books. The series takes place in the past during Ice Age at the dawn of modern humans. The book, and the series, is aimed at a more mature audience; adults. The writing can be difficult to read and follow if one is not serious about reading and enjoying the book fully. The book is entirely fictional, however, there is scientific research incorporated into the book. Thus, people who have an interest in the past and the evolution of humanity will find this book appealing.
The main character is Ayla. She lost her people at the age of five, and was raised by Neanderthals. This took place during the first book, The Clan of the Cave Bear. The second book features her life after her banishment from the Neanderthal Clan. Later she saves a man named Jondalar. He teaches her spoken language, and they leave the valley. The third book takes place when they meet a group of humans known as the Mammutoi, or Mammoth Hunters.
Ayla slowly grows to find acceptance with these people. Her upbringing with the Clan is much different than the society she enters. Over time, however, her unique skills begin to help the Mammoth Hunters accept her. A new plot develops however, when the man named Ranec, another member of the camp, grows increasingly attracted to her, causing severe complications in her relationship with Jondalar, as he tries to hide extreme jealousy. This is when the book begins to lose some of its power. As the winter continues, she and Jondalar grow distant over a simple misunderstanding. The plot suffers at this point simply shifting from Ayla’s winter activities, too Ayla and Jondalar’s angst-filled paragraphs over believing the other doesn’t love them.
The author’s writing style is the same as in the proceeding novels, giving great detail of surroundings and setting, though some descriptions can reads like a textbook rather than a novel. Sometimes the reader can be lost in irrelevant passages on how animals behaved during the time period, as some of these passages do not truly pertain to the actual story. Poor plot structure, writing, and characterization are prominent. Ayla’s development is important, if not well-done, as Ayla begins to understand how humans interact. The other characters around her remain flat throughout the story, never building in personality. Symbols and other nuances to literature are not prevalent in this novel.
The Mammoth Hunters, being a sequel to The Clan of the Cave Bear and The Valley of Horses, is simply a continuation of the series. The author’s purpose lies for writing this series lies more in the first novel. The author wanted to show readers about how involved human civilization was during the early days; how similar our ancestors were to us. She wanted to explore what it was like to live in the past, and even question how Neanderthals, a distant relative to us, behaved. The Mammoth Hunters was simply of continuation of this exploration.
Overall, the book was average at best. It lacked the excitement and power of the two preceding novels, and suffered from a lack of a good, steady plot. The book cannot be skipped, for we see important development and there is some setting up for the next three books. This book should only be read by people who wish to continue the Earth’s Children series. It was a tough read, so be warned before reading this novel. However, it’s worth reading to enjoy the whole series.
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Jan 06, 2013 Emma rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I randomly picked this book up, I didn't realize it was the 2nd in a trilogy written in the 60's/70's. Ask your mom, I bet she's read it! It was actually very popular when it came out. I loved this book! I can't even describe it, but it's incredibly creative and fun. It's very naive, so as long as your prepared for that, then this book is great. (it assumes our ancient cave man ancestors treated women with respect and lived this utopia world...which I really didn't mind imagining this world:) )....more

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Dec 28, 2012 Iceman rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Em os "Caçadores de Mamutes", divido em dois volumes, voltamos a encontrar Ayla, agora já uma jovem e bela mulher com a capacidade de discernir o seu mundo e as diferenças que a separam daqueles que a criaram.

Neste terceiro volume, e não querendo entrar em detalhes, pois poderia estragar o prazer da descoberta e da surpresa, Ayla parte para a terra dos Mamutes, animais imponentes que eram a base da alimentação da altura.

Atravessando planícies sem fim, Ayla acaba por encontrar uma terra habitada...more Em os "Caçadores de Mamutes", divido em dois volumes, voltamos a encontrar Ayla, agora já uma jovem e bela mulher com a capacidade de discernir o seu mundo e as diferenças que a separam daqueles que a criaram.

Neste terceiro volume, e não querendo entrar em detalhes, pois poderia estragar o prazer da descoberta e da surpresa, Ayla parte para a terra dos Mamutes, animais imponentes que eram a base da alimentação da altura.

Atravessando planícies sem fim, Ayla acaba por encontrar uma terra habitada pelos da sua espécie, no entanto ela própria sabe que também cada vez está mais longe da tribo que a criou e onde ela ainda tem motivos para amar...

Este terceiro volume, pese embora Auel continue o estilo e a forma narrativa assente, como já referi, em factos Geológicos e Históricos reais, perde imenso para os dois antecedentes.

Não vou aqui mencionar as principais razões porque considero essa perda, sobretudo porque iria cair em considerações sobre acontecimentos da própria história, mas há algo que está subjacente à própria extensão da obra, que é algum cansaço e saturação que se nota na escritora, assim como uma natural saturação do próprio leitor, pois repare-se: quando chegamos a este "Caçador de Mamutes", já levamos dois volumes lidos num total de cerca de 1.000 páginas. Sobre a época descrita, sobretudo sobre a coexistência entre o Homem de Neanderthal e o de Cro-Magnon já tudo foi praticamente dito em o "Clã do Urso das Cavernas" e o "Vale dos Cavalos" assim, este presente livro torna-se algo repetitivo nessas descrições, caindo assim também na repetição ao nível das situações, sobretudo quando Auel parece ter considerado o sexo como um escape ao argumento.

Pessoalmente gostei, mas não escondo que me decepcionou imenso. Vinha embalado com os outros dois e foi deveras frustante ver e sentir que a própria escritora estava mortinha para acabar com a história.

Obviamente que o livro tem a sua Qualidade. Lê-se bem e é curioso constatar a evolução de Ayla, mesmo a sua evolução no contacto com os da sua espécie, porém este fica muito aquém do esperado e exigível.

Mas existem algumas análises que se podem fazer, sobretudo no contexto social, nomeadamente ao nível do comportamento em grupo, podendo mesmo afirmar que este livro efectua uma curiosa análise aos primórdios dos comportamentos entre indivíduos.(less)

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May 21, 2012 Books-treasureortrash rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-novel, reviewed

Book Review: 1 Treasure Box

Ayla and Jondalar along with their beloved horses have ventured out from Ayla’s valley. They have decided it is time for Ayla to meet more of her own people. Before long they run into the Mamutoi, the Mammoth Hunters. Ayla’s different and unique ways attract the interest of these people who soon come to love the unusual new group, but there are also many challenges that the group must face together.

The Mammoth Hunters is the third of six books in the Earth Children’s s...more

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Apr 02, 2012 Manny rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: too-sexy-for-maiden-aunts

We had this au pair, an extremely smart girl who later became the editor of an architecture journal. A friend who liked women's erotica lent her a copy of The Mammoth Hunters, assuring her that it was a good smutty read. A couple of days later, I asked Isabel if it had lived up to its advance billing. She made a face.

"Well," she said, "it's the first time I've ever read a book where I found myself skipping the sex scenes. They're soooo boring."

She had a way with words, and, like many reviewers o...more

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Jan 23, 2012 Colleen O'Neill Conlan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novels

I'm enjoying following Ayla through her ongoing saga with Jondalar and the Others. But after three long books (this one in 723 pages) she's only 18 years old and had lived many, many lifetimes.

There are my usual complaints: Auel is a pretty repetitive writer, visiting and revisiting events that happened in the first two books again and again and again. I could do without that. The soft-core love scenes are also overdone (yes, we get it, these two are perfect sexual specimens).

But there is a lo...more

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Nov 07, 2011 Shannon rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Im trying to grasp why i couldnt put this book down and why i cant wait to get the next one? The characters were extremely frustrating, totally unbelievable & somewhat flat. Is ot because i am so invested in Ayla (and now Jondalar) that i am willing to put the sloppy writing, repitition and lazy character development aside?
I think I loved this book because it gave me what I wanted: an epic love story, a goddess, and a peak into the evolution of human tools and animal husbandry. Ayla is only...more

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Jun 23, 2011 Neil Hanson rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

II gave these books an honest try, starting with Clan of the Cave Bears. I think the author is a good storyteller, and a good writer. However, these books are absolutely crippled by what appears to be a lack of effective editing. The further you get into the books, the more you have to put up with the retelling of what you've already read... Over and over and over and over.

Here's a link to my review on my website of this book.
http://neilhanson.com/2011/book-revie...

I'd really like to be able to...more

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Apr 23, 2011 C.D. Leavitt rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical

I'm slowly but surely working my way through the Earth's Children series and this happens to be my least favorite of the bunch. Since I still gave it four stars, it obviously wasn't that bad. The interactions between the characters and the tension between Jondalar and Ayla was pretty believable, but also deeply frustrating. When I'd read the book as a teenager, I'd been more annoyed than I was this time, as I saw the plot largely relying on the fact that characters weren't speaking to one anothe...more

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Mar 08, 2011 Rebecca Radnor rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction-adult, ancient-history

Having read the whole series.... book 1 ROCKED, book 2 was not bad... book 3 was cheesy.... book 4 was a bore, book 5 however seems to be getting back on track and is on par with book 2. Ms. Auel has this nasty habit of repeating everything so much that you have the feeling its to compensate for lack of inspiration. Lady, if we've gotten to book 5 all we need is a reminder (think flat heads) you don't have to tell us everything all over again, and DEFINITELY not more than once per book. That and...more

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Feb 03, 2011 Angela rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: alt-history, audio, challenged, romance

I have been listening to this for the past month or so. However, I heard a bit I wanted to put down because I really liked the story, but had to find my paper copy to find it again, so I could transcribe it here...

page 383 in chapter 22
"..."I'll tell you a winter story about the Great Bountiful Earth Mother who created all that lives,' the old man said, smiling. Ayla sat beside him on a mat near the fire.

'In a great struggle, the Earth Mother took a life force from Chaos, which is a cold and unm...more I have been listening to this for the past month or so. However, I heard a bit I wanted to put down because I really liked the story, but had to find my paper copy to find it again, so I could transcribe it here...

page 383 in chapter 22
"..."I'll tell you a winter story about the Great Bountiful Earth Mother who created all that lives,' the old man said, smiling. Ayla sat beside him on a mat near the fire.

'In a great struggle, the Earth Mother took a life force from Chaos, which is a cold and unmoving emptiness, like death, and from it She created life and warmth, but She must always fight for the life She created. When the cold season is coming on, we know the struggle has begun between the Bountiful Earth Mother who wants to bring forth warm life and cold death of Chaos, but first She must care for Her children.'

Ayla was warming to the story, now, and smiled encouragingly. 'What does She do to care for Her children?'

'Some She puts to sleep, some She dresses warmly to resist the cold, some She bids gather food and hide. As it gets colder and colder, death seems to be winning, the Mother is pushed back farther and farther. In the depths of the cold death, nothing moves, nothing changes, everything seems to be dead. For us, without a warm place to live and the food that is stored, death would win in winter; sometimes, if the battle goes on longer than usual, it does. No one goes out much, then. People make things, or tell stories, or talk, but they don't move around much and they sleep more. That's why winter is called the little death.

Finally, when the cold has pushed Her down as far as She will go, She resists. She pushes and pushes until She breaks the back of winter. It means spring will return but it is not spring, yet. She has had a long fight, and She must rest before She can bring forth life again. But you know She has won. You can smell it, you can feel it in the air."

(That Mamut, he tells a good story.)

I liked the story well enough to put up with the repeats and the annoying part off the love story. Glad I listened though, would have missed some stuff when I skipped over some of the repeating if I had read it.

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Feb 03, 2011 Melissa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, prehistoric-fiction

I'm a big fan of the Earth's Children series and really enjoyed this third book of the series. There are some flaws that make it not quite as charming as the first two, but overall, it was still a good read. It could probably be read as a stand-alone, but I highly recommend reading the other two first as to get an idea of the background. For those of you who don't know it, and don't mind spoilers, Ayla was a little girl, who, when orphaned by an earthquake, was found be a clan of Neanderthals an...more I'm a big fan of the Earth's Children series and really enjoyed this third book of the series. There are some flaws that make it not quite as charming as the first two, but overall, it was still a good read. It could probably be read as a stand-alone, but I highly recommend reading the other two first as to get an idea of the background. For those of you who don't know it, and don't mind spoilers, Ayla was a little girl, who, when orphaned by an earthquake, was found be a clan of Neanderthals and adopted into their cave. She struggles with maintaining the docility expected of Clan women, but finds ways to secretly hunt and be herself. When she is eventually cursed away from the Clan and has to leave her son behind, she journeys to a valley where she finds unlikely companions in a horse and lion cub. She longs for human contact though and when a mysteriously handsome man is injured and she has to nurse him to health, she finds feelings for him she never knew could be.

This novel starts right at the end of the last when Jondalar and Ayla are exploring the area with her horses and come across a group of hunting Mamutoi. The leader, a big burly man named Talut, invites them back to his camp and there they meet friends and share their inventions they have come across and Ayla's horses. Here to, to their surprise is a child of mixed-spirits named Rydag whom Ayla is immediately drawn to in reminder of her son. She teaches the camp how to talk to him through the Clan's sign language. All is not happy however as Jondalar becomes increasingly jealous of the attentions the handsome Ranec gives to Ayla. The whole camp likes her enough though that she is invited to become adopted into their camp and also asked for her hand in marriage (well not quite, but the primitive equivalent). She has tough decisions to make and Jondalar does as well based on those decisions.

The characters are pretty well done in these books. Ayla and Jondalar are just a bit too perfect, but despite that still mostly likeable. Well almost, Jondalar actually drives me a bit nuts with his overdone jealousy in this book and is really quite idiotic. Ayla I can forgive a little bit since she was raised in different settings, but his reactions are not normal for his people. The rest of the people too I was a little impatient with for letting the animosity grow and stating they should stay out of it for unconvincing reasons. My favorite character was Rydag and the depth that he gave to the story while still being quite charming.

The writing is very descriptive but I do find fault with a part of it. Auel makes Jondalar and Ayla discover every new and innovative invention and it gets tiring and unbelievable. I'm sure she just wanted to express how these developments came about but would have been better served to have them meet some people who discovered some of these things instead of laying it all at their feet. For some readers, there are parts of this book that could be uncomfortable. There are very explicit and detailed sex scenes in this book and Auel leaves nothing to the imagination. It might not be for everyone because of this.

Despite some of these problems though, its still a great book and I love reading and re-reading this series as it never grows old for me.

1st book: Clan of the Cave Bear
2nd book: The Valley of Horses

The Mammoth Hunters
Copyright 1985
645 pages

Review by M. Reynard 2011(less)

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Jan 07, 2011 Kathleen Dienne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I got this book as a Christmas present when I was twelve. My (young) uncle knew I liked historical fiction and had recently developed an interest in dawn-of-man science. As a scientist, he wanted to encourage this interest. However, he was also very busy, and instead of reading the book himself, he gave it to his roommate. A week later, the roommate handed it back. "It's pretty good. Not enough sex, though."

My uncle gave it to me without a second thought and forgot about it until my mother calle...more

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Feb 16, 2010 ~M~ rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: People Into Archaeology, People Into Relationship Dynamics

Recommended to ~M~ by: My mom

Shelves: favorites, loved-this-book

I began reading the Earth's Children Series when I was in high school thanks to my mother, who loved archaeology and was an avid reader. As I have written in my reviews of The Clan of the Cave Bear and Valley of the Horses, I am particularly drawn to stories about people being dropped into alien environments or cultures and having to learn and adapt in order to survive.

In this book, Ayla meets her own people, The Others, for the first time. Through Ayla's eyes we learn about this community of p...more

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Jan 05, 2011 Jerelyn rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: prehistorical-fiction

I finished reading the Mammoth Hunters, the third book in this series by Jean M Auel. It follows our intrepid heroine Ayla and her hunky boyfriend Jondalar, north in search of other like them. Johndalar wants her to be around the others before taking her home to meet the folks. Whether it is because I have read three books in five and a half days or the soap operaish turn this book took I really didn't enjoy it as much as the first two.

Taken in by mostly loving and accepting Mammoth Hunters who...more

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Oct 05, 2012 Lori rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: prehistory-fiction

I loved "Clan of the Cave Bear" and "The Valley of Horses"; "The Mammoth Hunters"? This Jane Auel series ends here for me; and that's unfortunate because I'd wanted to read all of it. Hundreds and hundreds of pages of teaching and preaching, repetitionrepetitionrepetition, boring, arduous, and, hey, if I wanted a complete expose--over and over again, at that--about making flint suitable for spears and knives, I'd have read a book on flint knapping.

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Apr 21, 2011 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, new-york-times-best-seller, read-in-2011, reviewed, series

The action in "The Mammoth Hunters" continues the saga of earth's children and takes place in the Ice Age, 25,000 years ago.

Ayla and Jandlar meet the Mamutoi, who are a clan like Ayla and are Mammoth Hunters. When people see that Ayla can control a horse by having the horse come when she whistles and that she can ride the horse, some of the people in the village think she has exceptional powers, others are dsitrustful. This is a time when horses were only thought of as food.

There is also conflic...more

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Jan 06, 2012 Josh rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I did like The Mammoth Hunters, but then again ... I think I found it frustrating. There are so many similarities between the first two that everything just feels like it's being repeated ... and then there is the feeling of repetition within the book itself. While I really appreciated hearing about how the Clan worked flint in CotCB, I'm totally over it by the third time it's describe in TMH. Also, if I have to endure another sex scene between Ayla and Jondalar, described identically every time...more

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About Jean M. Auel

Jean M. Auel, née Jean Marie Untinen is an American writer. She is best known for her Earth's Children books, a series of historical fiction novels set in prehistoric Europe that explores interactions of Cro-Magnon people with Neanderthals. Her books have sold 34 million copies world-wide in many translations.

Author Jean Marie Auel (surname pronounced like "owl") is the second of five children of...more Jean M. Auel, née Jean Marie Untinen is an American writer. She is best known for her Earth's Children books, a series of historical fiction novels set in prehistoric Europe that explores interactions of Cro-Magnon people with Neanderthals. Her books have sold 34 million copies world-wide in many translations.

Author Jean Marie Auel (surname pronounced like "owl") is the second of five children of Neil Solomon Untinen, a housepainter, and Martha Wirtanen. She and her husband, Ray Bernard Auel, have five children and live in Portland, Oregon.

Auel has been a member of Mensa since 1964. She attended Portland State University and the University of Portland. While studying, she worked as a clerk (1965-1966), a circuit board designer (1966-1973), technical writer (1973-1974), and a credit manager at Tektronix (1974-1976). At one time, she shared a secretary with author Ursula K. Le Guin.[citation needed] She earned an MBA in 1976 and has received honorary degrees from the University of Maine and Mount Vernon College for Women.

In 1977, Auel began extensive library research of the Ice Age for her first book. She joined a survival class to learn how to construct an ice cave, and learned primitive methods of making fire, tanning leather, and knapping stone from aboriginal skills expert Jim Riggs. Auel describes Riggs as "the kind of person you could put into one end of a wilderness naked, and he'd come out the other end fed, clothed, and sheltered." Clan of the Cave Bear was nominated for numerous literary awards, including an American Booksellers Association nomination for best first novel.

After the success of the first book, Auel was able to travel to prehistoric sites and to meet many of the experts with whom she had been corresponding. Her research has taken her across Europe from France to Ukraine, including most of what Marija Gimbutas called Old Europe. She has developed a close friendship with Dr. Jean Clottes of France who was responsible for, among many other things, the exploration of the Cosquer Cave discovered in 1985 and the Chauvet Cave discovered in 1994.

Jean Auel's books have been commended for their anthropological authenticity and their ethnobotanical accuracy. However, recent archaeological research may suggest that some prehistorical details in the series are inaccurate and others fictional, and that specifications of prehistorical milestones are sometimes arbitrary and inconsistent. For example, the differences between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens may have been exaggerated or underestimated in the series; it has been found that Neanderthals had a hyoid bone and may thus have been capable of using vocal language and not as dependent on sign language as portrayed in the series (the existence of a Neanderthal hyoid bone wasn't confirmed until 1983, some years after the first book in the series was published).
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Books by Jean M. Auel

The Clan of the Cave Bear (Earth's Children, #1)

The Valley of Horses (Earth's Children, #2)

The Plains of Passage (Earth's Children, #4)

The Shelters of Stone (Earth's Children, #5)

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

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Quotes from The Mammoth Hunters

“They stared at each other, wanting each other, drawn to each other, but their silent shout of love went unheard in the roar of misunderstanding, and the clatter of culturally ingrained beliefs.” — 52 people liked it

“She loved him, more than she could ever find words for, but this love he felt for her was not quite the same. It wasn't so much stronger, as more demanding, more insistent. As though he feared he would lose that which he had finally won.” — 5 people liked it

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The Mammoth Hunters (Earth's Children #3)

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