Ayla

The Clan of the Cave Bear chronicles the early life of Ayla. As a young Cro-Magnon girl, Ayla's parents are killed in an earthquake at the beginning of the novel when she was just five years of age. She is rescued by Iza, the Clan's medicine woman, and she is brought into the Clan. However, Ayla is uncomfortable with the rules and customs of her adopted people and she makes a series of costly mistakes that eventually lead to her exile.

Ayla is adopted by The Clan and trained by Iza to be a medicine woman. This is difficult for Ayla, but she has a quick mind and a natural curiosity. She teaches herself to hunt with a sling  (hunting is forbidden to Clan women) and only hunts predators since she could not bring her kills back to the cave. When she saves the life of Broud's...