The Shelters of Stone

Ayla reaches the limestone shelters of the Zelandonii, Jondalar’s people, where she must establish a place within his family and a large, settled community. Her foreign upbringing, relationship with animals and unconventional abilities inspire admiration in some and distrust in others. As she prepares for marriage and motherhood, she also begins training with the spiritual leader known as the First Among Those Who Serve the Mother.

The novel concentrates on domestic and communal life in a major Upper Paleolithic settlement. Food storage, hunting, toolmaking, kinship, ceremony and social status shape Ayla’s integration, while nearby painted caves and sacred places suggest the growing importance of ritual specialists and symbolic art.