The Land of Painted Caves

Now accepted among the Zelandonii, Ayla continues her training as a spiritual leader while raising her daughter and maintaining her partnership with Jondalar. Her duties take her through a network of sacred caves whose paintings, carvings and ceremonies preserve the beliefs of different communities. The demands of initiation, travel and public responsibility place increasing strain on her private life.

As Ayla studies the meanings attached to the painted caves, she develops ideas that challenge established assumptions about fertility, kinship and the role of men in conception. The final novel brings together the series’ themes of healing, innovation, spirituality and cultural change within the ritual landscape of Upper Paleolithic Europe.