The Valley of Horses
As he
spoke, Jondalar unconsciously reached into the pouch attached to
his belt and felt for the small stone figurine of an obese
female. He felt the familiar huge breasts, her large protruding
stomach, and her more than ample buttocks and thighs. The arms
and legs were insignificant, it was the Mother aspects that were
important, and the limbs on the stone figure were only suggested.
The head was a knob with a suggestion of hair that carried across
the face, with no features.
... He reached into his pouch. "I have something I want to give you, Noria." He took out the stone donii and put it in her hand. He wished there were some way to tell her how special it was to him, to tell her his mother had given it to him, to tell her how old it was, how it had been passed down for many generations. Then he smiled. "This donii is my Haduma," he said. "Jondalar's Haduma. Now, it is Noria's Haduma."
Venus of Willendorf. Made from limestone with traces of red ochre. 4" (11cm) high. Found in Willendorf, Wachau, Lower Austria.
Spear Straightener similar to Thonolan's. (Different carving - Thonolan's was carved with "animals and plants of spring", while this one is decorated with reindeer and was found in the Dordogne region - where book 5 is expected to take place.) These items were usually made from a relatively straight section of reindeer antler about two feet long with a Y-shaped angle at one end. There is some argument over what these were used for. Some say they are baton's and others say they were used to straighten spear shafts by passing the shaft through the hole and applying pressure where needed. The edges of the holes in many of them, like this one, appear to have been smoothed with frequent use.
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"Whinney and her herd" Herd of Przewalski's horses similar to those in Ayla's valley. They are Earth's last remaining true wild horse species. |
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Jondalar peered
over the top of the tent. Just on the other side, swaying from
side to side, as he shifted his massive tonnage from one foot to
the other, was a huge, double-horned, woolly rhinoceros. With his
head turned to the side, he was eyeing Thonolan. He was nearly
blind directly ahead; his small eyes were set far back and his
vision was poor to begin with. Acute hearing and a sharp sense of
smell more than made up for his eyesight.
He was obviously a creature of the cold. He had two coats, a soft undercoat of thick downy fur and a shaggy outer one of reddish brown hair, and beneath his tough hide was a three-inch layer of fat. He carried his head low, downward from his shoulders, and his long front horn sloped forward at an angle that barely cleared the ground as he swayed. Coelodonta antiquitatis Blumenbach (Rhinoceros tichorhinus Cuvier)
"Many
animal die. Many come take meat. Wolf. Hyena. Lion. Other I not
see before. Big teeth." She demonstrated an open mouth and
her two index fingers handing down like elongated canines.
"You saw a dirk-toothed tiger! I didn't know they were real! One old man used to tell stories to the youngsters at Summer Meetings about seeing one when he was young, but not everyone believed him. You really saw one?" He was wishing he could have been with her.
She nodded and shivered, tightening her shoulders and shutting her eyes. "Make Whinny fright. Stalk. Sling make go. Whinny, I run."
Jondalar's eyes opened wide at her halting recitation of the incident. "you drove off a dirk-toothed tiger with your sling? Good Mother, Ayla!"
Sabre-tooth 'tiger' or dirk-toothed cat.
He sat at the edge, carving, shaping, sculpting, but he realized the ivory was not turning out to be ample and motherly. It was taking on the shape of a young woman. The hair that he had intended to resemble the style of the ancient donii he had given away - a ridged form covering the face as well as the back - was suggestive of braids, tight braids all over the head, except for the face. The face was blank. No face was ever carved on a donii, who could bear to look upon the face of the Mother? Who could know it? She was all women, and none.
... He stared at
the small ivory figure he had carved. The he took up a burin and
began to carve the shape of a face, a familiar face.
When it was done, he held the ivory figurine up and turned it around slowly. A real carver might have done it better, but it wasn't bad. It resembled Ayla, but more in the feeling than the actual likeness; his feeling of her.
Lady of Brassempouy - Ivory. 1 1/4" (3.2cm) high. Found in Grotte du Pape, Brassempouy (Landes), France. Dated at about 25,000 years old.
Created by Diane in Cincinnati
Added 20 April 97