A prehistoric, cro-magnon little girl is orphaned by a natural disaster and is lost, scared and alone when another group of people, neanderthals, looking for a new home after their cave was destroyed by the same disaster, find her and reluctantly adopt her into their clan.
The clan's medicine woman, Ize, and shaman, Creb, name her Ayla and take the responsibility for her even though she is clearly from "the others", the antagonists of the clan, and they are suspicious of her presence, fearing she might bring bad luck.
This is the story of Ayla as she grows into a strong, self-sufficient woman and life during prehistoric times, her spirited desire to be more than her clan allows her to be, her difficulties, triumphs. It is full of fascinating tidbits about what life would have been like in those times, from animals of that era, plant life and medicinal uses of them, to hunting techniques to simple human communication.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel (a few times) and liked the whole series, although this one was my favorite.
While this was published in 1980, it remains one of the most unique and well researched book that I have read, and I highly recommend it.
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