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Analysis Of The Book ' The Clan Of The Cave Bear '

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The disappearance of the Neanderthal race is still a much debated mystery. The myth that our ancestors, the original homo sapiens, whipped them out was once the conventional theory on their extinction. The same old narrative of we were stronger, they were weaker. Essentially survival of the fittest on the human scale. However, in The Humans Who Went Extinct, Author Chris Finlayson provides insight on a very different perspective. His theory on the Neanderthal extinction was due to climate change and chance. The ability to adapt was the reason our ancestors thrived while the Neanderthals died out. Jean Auel 's novel The Clan of the Cave Bear is a classic coming-of-age tale about an outcast who thrives in a foreign society despite numerous obstacles placed in front of her. Although, it is based in the prehistoric times, I highly doubt that there is much historical accuracy to this story. It is a powerful tale, however from a historical standpoint, I believe it is as useful as the Spartacus television show on the Roman Era. Both novels cover the Prehistoric World, however, each story 's view is drastically different than the other. I believe one the major reasons Clive Finlayson wrote this book is due to his disagreement with the popular belief that the Neanderthals were destroyed by our ancestors. He even goes as far as to state that we lived on due to "survival of the weakest" (Finlayson 20). That 's directly opposes the idea that we survived because we were smarter and
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