Anthony Yocolano, host of the Neanderthal Mind, interviews author E. A. Meigs once again. Listen as they discuss Meigs’s Ice Age-themed book series, and the background research and personal life experiences that add layers of realism to the saga. Also discussed are assessing research sources for finding the best and most current information, and the probable social constructs of Neanderthal society. I hope you enjoy the show!
The sun has not yet crested the horizon, but a young Neanderthal woman named Soosha has already begun her day. It is still dark when her infant’s whimper reaches her ears, signaling that his belly is empty and nappy, full. Soosha retrieves the baby and removes a scrap of hide used as a diaper. Seeing that the absorbent cattail fluff within the diaper is soiled, she shakes it over their fire pit. The dirty fluff falls onto the red coals of a dying fire, where it sends up an acrid plume of smoke.
The now squalling and impatient infant is cleansed and his nappy is repacked with clean fluff. He calms as he is nursed, despite that his mother is simultaneously prodding the fire where the cattail fluff, even in it’s somewhat dampened state, has begun to burn. Soosha carefully adds fuel to the flames to bring both light and warmth to their little home. When the baby has dozed off again, Soosha tenderly kisses his forehead and he is put back to bed. She then builds up the fire so their small earthen dwelling will be warm by the time the family arises from their slumber.
Now that it is autumn, the clan has settled into their winter lodgings. Their earthen homes are dug into a hillside and then shored-up with sections of tree trunks or large branches. It is a cozy, if dark and somewhat claustrophobic place to wait out the coming days of sub-freezing temperatures and fierce winds. Some of the clan stay here year-round: those who are not able to make long journeys as the rest follow game, setting up open-air homes at each site. The ones left behind are the most fragile of the clan, primarily the elderly and the injured. They keep animals at bay who might want to steal food stores, or invade the temporarily unoccupied homes. The use of fire and marking their borders with urine discourages most animals from venturing too close.
Throughout the warmer months, the rest of the clan occasionally stops in from their travels to drop off meat, hides, and animal by-products. This adds to what the permanent residents have been able to forage. The in-ground homes have the benefit of being cool in the summer, as well as warm in the winter. While the near-constant temperature of 50 to 55 degrees may be quite a bit warmer than outdoor winter temperatures, it can feel chilly during summer. Sometimes a low fire is maintained even on hot days to take the edge off the chill and for humidity control. After years-long occupation of this site, most of the easily scavenged wood has already been burned. Other than deadwood that sometimes falls from the trees, they must make short hikes to hew firewood with axes hafted with knapped-stone axe heads. In addition to keeping fire pits fueled, the chimney holes must be kept clear of obstructions, such as brush that might catch fire, or snow accumulation during and after each snowstorm.
Neanderthal mother and her children start their day. (Illustration: E. A. Meigs)
For now, all is quiet. Soosha is grateful the baby did not awaken his older siblings. She slips back into the nest of bedding she shares with her mate, Killek. She snuggles contentedly against him, placing an arm around his warm back, and she is soon fast asleep.
It will not be not long before they will start their day. Killek and his older brother Tonk are going hunting and they must be away as early as possible. When Soosha feels Killek rouse, she rises as well, and they both pull on various articles of clothing in the semi-darkness. They have a few lamps made from horns of a young aurochs, that they filled with fat and fitted with a twisted plant-fiber wick. The lamps are used sparingly to conserve precious fuel, but Soosha lights one now to illuminate the chamber as they prepare for the day’s activities.
While Killek ducks through the low, hide-covered doorway to retrieve an armload of wood, Soosha makes a simple breakfast of fresh berries and slivers of roast venison, leftover from their previous night’s meal. These foods are washed down with water, served in cups made from dried gourds. After breaking their fast, man and woman work together in companionable silence to collect the things Killek will need to carry, although today he will be traveling light. Ice Age winters meant bundling up in layers of clothing, but for now they can still venture out unencumbered by heavy animal skin coats, head coverings, mittens, and boots.
The hunters have been keeping an eye out for tree trunks sporting fresh scars from bucks that have been scraping them with their antlers. Such a place would be a good spot to ambush a buck, who generally returns each morning to see if does have visited in his absence. Soosha is relieved that this will be a relatively routine hunt. Any outing has the potential to be dangerous, but an encounter with a deer, even a buck during the rut, is no where near as perilous as an encounter with larger animals, such as aurochs, wisents, woolly rhinos, or worse still, woolly mammoths.
Woolly Rhino (Illustration credit: Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga, by E. A. Meigs)
Soosha, on the other hand, is small, but she is also strong. Her daily chores are numerous, and often they require much strenuous labor, albeit, not as extreme as her mate’s. The bones and muscle attachments on Neanderthal women’s arms were about equal, indicating that most Neanderthal men and women were specializing in different tasks. (For more on sexual dimorphism: Scroll to pg. 129)
After Killek leaves with his brother, the children awaken, one by one. The toddler is not yet fully weaned, and as mother and children settle by the fire, the tot climbs onto his mother’s lap to nurse. When all the children are fed, she adds fuel to the fire and, infant on her hip, she then slings their empty water bag over her shoulder. The family walks down to the stream, where Soosha places the baby in the arms of her six year old daughter, and bends to refill the bag in the rushing water.
As they stand at the stream, others from their clan also converge on the rivulet to replenish their water supply. Most of the clan consists of related individuals. They discuss plans to forage for various foods that day. It is vitally important to harvest and preserve as many foodstuffs as they can for the coming winter. Many of their chores involve working hides, processing plant fibers to make baskets or twine, or sewing clothing, footwear, sacks, and backpacks, but much of that will have to wait for the time when the last of autumn’s bounty has been collected. As the season grows colder and bad weather often keeps them housebound, that will be the time to create the many things each family uses in their day-to-day lives.
European Cave Lion (Illustration credit: Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga, by E. A. Meigs)
Hunts may take place year-round, but spring and fall are an especially active time due to seasonal migrations and the annual ruts. Spring hunts often take place on the faraway plains. Game is abundant there, but so too are large predators, such as the cave lion. The grasslands are a very dangerous place, not only because of threats posed by predators, but also because the prey animals themselves can be downright huge. If a serious injury is to occur, this is often where it happens. Fossilized remains of Neanderthal men show signs of a very rough life (scroll down to “Fractures“). Their injuries are compared to those of rodeo riders, and amputations were not unknown. Even smaller prey such as fallow deer or ibex still have the potential to gore or kick a hunter.
Fallow deer (Illustration credit: Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga, by E. A. Meigs)
While the clan goes about their day, Killek and Tonk march steadily through the forest. The air is absolutely still. There is no wind to whisper among the tree branches or rustle the leaf-littered trail. Despite their efforts to walk as quietly as possible, each step produces a slight but audible crunch. Tonk and Killek continue until they reach the place where the buck has left his marks. Bucks not only scrape their antlers on trees to rid themselves of the putrid shreds of velvet as it is slowly rotting off, but it is also a way of attracting does. Between the antler scrapes and scrapes the buck has dug into the ground, does can pick up their scent and then decide if this buck is a potential mate or not. Bucks renew their scrapes every day and stop to sniff at them, in hopes that they might include the aroma of a receptive doe. With luck, the hunters will be able to find this buck as it makes its daily rounds. However, if the buck picks up human scent, there is a chance he will not approach at all. The men could only conceal themselves in the nearby brush and hope for the best.
The sun rises higher. Killek and Tonk remain absolutely motionless. They have done this often enough over the years that they do not need to formulate a plan. They simply await their prey and assuming he appears, dart out from their hiding places and lance him behind his forelegs with their spears, where they might hit the heart and lungs. Birds and insects flit around them. Even squirrels come to scamper nearby as though the two men were just another part of the forest. At long last they hear the sounds of snapping twigs. Something is coming. The buck’s musky odor becomes more apparent as he closes in on them. He is a young fallow deer with a modest set of antlers, but he appears well-nourished. His tongue is out, as he tastes the air for the scent of does. A few bits of miscellaneous foliage decorate his antlers.
Roe deer (Illustration credit: Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga, by E. A. Meigs)
The buck pauses to freshen the rut where he has pawed the earth with his hoofs and then deposits a stream of urine into the shallow trench. There, he does a brief dance, splashing the muddy liquid onto his forelegs. Next, he steps up to the mark he has carved into the tree and sniffs, upper lip raised and pink tongue still protruding. The buck positions himself to enlarge the scrape on the tree and at that moment Killek saw Tonk lift one finger very slightly. This is the signal to strike.
After the buck is ambushed, has expired, and is gutted, he is carried back to their collection of earthen dwellings, where he is skinned and butchered. The buck is small in size, but nevertheless, clan members are pleased to see that the first hunt of the rutting season has been a success.
As the day winds down, the clan assembles around a central firepit to enjoy the fruits of their harvests in their evening sup. The meat and organs of the buck are consumed in their entirety during this hearty meal, and his antlers and bones will be repurposed into tools, his sinews into threads, his hide into clothing. Little goes to waste; in fact, every slain animal contributes many valuable resources to the clan’s welfare.
Afterwards, the group relaxes around the fire, enjoying conversation until it is time for the nightly story. Soosha’s mate Killek is a Keeper of Stories, a role he inherited from his father. Often he is asked to tell one of their traditional tales, one that has been retold for many generations. This evening he recounts a story of The People of the Wolves. When the fire has burned low and Killek’s tale is complete, the families bid one another good night. Soon, winter will be upon them and it will be too cold for these outdoor gatherings, but for now, they are an important part of the day. They reinforce the bonds between those in the clan and add a pleasant diversion to what is often a harsh existence.
Ibex (Illustration credit: Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga, by E. A. Meigs)
This blog is less a story and more of an informational piece (unlike my books, which are stories – although I make every attempt to make them as scientifically accurate as possible ). It contains some scientific data, but also considerable conjecture derived from many decades of reading scientific papers, books, and articles (and personal experience and formal study). Early humans left scant evidence to tell us about their lives, so we are left to speculate on tantalizing clues. Theories change frequently and some theories directly contradict each other, making it challenging to draw an accurate picture of life during prehistoric times. I strive to collect data from many sources and collate that which I feel is the most probable into a coherent hypothesis that includes not only paleoanthropology, but also zoology, climatology, and ancient survival tactics.
As you may have guessed, I have endowed my Neanderthal characters with the intelligence and skills needed to survive in an Eurasian Ice Age setting. I believe they would have needed winter shelters that can withstand extreme weather, and temporary open air shelters to be used when following game during warmer seasons. Also, they required a means of heating and lighting their homes throughout long winters, ample ability to hunt and forage a wide variety of foods and materials, and manufacture fitted (although perhaps not terribly stylish by our standards) clothing, footwear, and outerwear.
The Neanderthal endured through some of the most inhospitable conditions mankind has ever faced for over 200,000 years(longer, if you include the proto-Neanderthal). Out of necessity, they would have been master outdoorsmen and owned comprehensive knowledge on how to leverage every resource to its utmost advantage. I eagerly await each new discovery as science continues to explore historical clues left by our early human ancestors, and bring more of their legacy to light.
Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga brings to life an era that is well known for its megafauna and brutal climate, and peopled it with those who must wrest a livelihood from a fierce wilderness. Their harrowing adventures help to strengthen families and forge powerful friendships. Then, as now, it is survival and the preservation and continuation of our clans that drives us.
So, you might ask, how does one start writing a historical fiction book series? Where does one gain knowledge and insight sufficient to breathe life into an ancient world, a world whose inhabitants have long-since perished? Speaking for myself, it has been a lengthy and convoluted –but never boring– journey!
The writing bug bit early. It wasn’t a dainty nibble, but rather a hearty chomp. As my childhood years flew by, I filled notebook after notebook. After landing my first job, the earnings went toward the purchase of a cheap manual typewriter. There was no gentle tippity-tappity to get a legible font; this machine required the kind of vigorous finger-strokes needed to play Rachmaninoff’s 3rd Piano Concerto. Nevertheless, I pounded out my first full-length (and very silly) 300+ page novel at the age of ten.
Discovering the World of Natural History
My working career began (outside of working with my Dad on his commercial fishing boat) at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History. It was my great good fortune to be employed there for four years. I worked with noted naturalists such as John Hay, Robert Finch, Robert Prescott, and Donald Schall. My title was “Girl Friday“, which meant that I did whatever was needed at the moment. I swept floors, tended various resident animals on the grounds (such as a one-winged Great Horned Owl), assisted with field work, or shelved returned books in their library. I had a strong interest in science and natural history, and luckily for me, the museum staff were more than willing to share their knowledge.
(Credit: E. A. Meigs)
Learning More About the Outdoors
I had lots of woodlands, marshes, and beaches to explore. A little creek ran past our house and a foot bridge (um…well…a plank) gave us access to a verdant glen hidden amongst the trees. There, I would erect a tent from whatever materials I could find, in which I spent the night whenever the weather (and my parents) allowed. I use the term “tent” loosely. It was a drop-cloth strung up between trees with an old carpet underneath. It was scarcely weatherproof, and certainly not bug-proof. But that was no concern to me; all I cared was that I could stay outside. Later, I was gifted an old canvas tent that appeared to have been last used during World War II. It was a bit musty, but I was very glad to have it; it was a vast improvement over my improvised shelters.
I have always enjoyed camping. As a young adult, whenever I was in-between rentals I would just camp in the forest until my next lease started. It could be chilly at times, but thankfully, my father had brought me up to be comfortable in the woods. Living out of a backpack never posed a problem.
(Image Credit: E. A. Meigs
Boats, Boatyards, and Commercial Fishing
I aspired to be a naturalist, like those I knew at the Museum. But however appealing the study of nature, I didn’t think I could make a living at it. After graduation, I went on to have a nautical career. As the daughter of a commercial fisherman/backyard boatbuilder, for me, this was a obvious choice, but it sometimes presented a bit of a puzzlement to others. Feminism was in its infancy in those days, making me somewhat of a curiosity. I was often the only woman onboard, or at the work site. I didn’t try to be one of the guys or compete with them. In fact, although I was very strong for a five-foot tall female (they sometimes called me Mighty-Mite), I knew I could not match their size and strength.
I was grateful not to be asked, for example, to load a battered 55 gallon drum onto the back of a truck. My burly co-worker gamely stepped up to the drum and embraced it as a wrestler would his opponent. Following a breathless struggle, he finally placed the dented and rusted receptacle on the truck’s bed while the owner of the drum looked on, nodding with satisfaction. It was only after the task was completed when it was revealed that the drum was filled with chunks of lead. Another time, I saw one of the guys pick up two two-hundred pound mushroom moorings by the shank, and walk away with them as though they were a pair of suitcases.
(Image Credit: E. A. Meigs)
Working in a Man’s World
I had already amassed more than a decade of pertinent experience when I started working in boatyards. But as low man on the totem pole, I was assigned some of the worst jobs. When they needed someone to crawl around in a tight bilge, up into a forepeak, or down a cramped lazarette, as the smallest, I was the one tapped. If you think they were giving me crappy jobs because I was female, rest assured my male contemporaries were given assignments equally as bad.
One boatyard’s sail loft was located up a very old and creaky flight of stairs, and the loft’s doorway was a mere 5 feet high and just over a foot wide. Guess who got to retrieve all the sails? While I fit through the doorway just fine, the sail bags were usually a lot larger than the door’s opening, so shoving them through was quite a process. Once I managed to accomplish this, there was nothing to stop the sail bags from tumbling down the rickety stairs, thundering and shaking the stairway as they went, looking like an enraged elephant seal charging down a steep beach.
On the job: sanding brightwork, under the supervision of my old dog, Sugar.
All in all, I enjoyed laboring alongside my coworkers. Over the years maybe one or two of the guys were somewhat hostile, but most were quite pleasant. People not acquainted with commercial fishermen and boatyard workers might think them a bit rough around the edges, but I generally found them to be pretty easy to get along with. They were salt of the earth folks; they may not have been “pinkies up” kind of guys, but they were funny and caring, and I considered them to be friends.
Marriage
I married while still in my early twenties and gave birth to two daughters. I was a content to be a wife and mother, and I thoroughly enjoyed my children and all the things that came with domestic life. We lived on a small homestead complete with goats, chickens, honey bees, and large gardens. After the marriage broke up, I was forced to support my household and return to the work I knew…and paid the bills. So, it was back to working on boats.
Starting a New Chapter
By the time I was nearing 40 years old, the heavy toil was taking a toll on my physique. So, I began to look for alternate means to make a living. I was excited to find a job managing a shipping department; oh joy, to be clean and warm and dry! But I soon discovered that 95% of the shipped product was cut slate – ROCKS! So much for light work! But at least the boxes of rocks were marginally lighter than the loads I routinely carried in the fishing industry. That said, I still needed to segue to a career that didn’t potentially include a hernia.
On the job: Fish & Wildlife (Image credit: E. A. Meigs)
Fish & Wildlife and Forestry
As time went on, I found employment in a small field office for Fish and Wildlife. As with the staff at the Museum of Natural History, the wildlife biologists were generous with their knowledge. In addition to my usual duties logging check station data from the hunts, handling Management Area purchase orders for everything from copy paper to heavy equipment, and other mundane tasks, I also occasionally accompanied biologists on controlled burns and field work.
I spent a year as a resident employee at a State Park, as well; another wonderful experience! My dog Sam and I hiked the trails every day, often waking up the deer as we trekked along at sunrise. Most animals are not keen about people – and dogs, even less so, but I reveled in the fleeting glimpses of these creatures.
Daily hike with Sam. (Credit: E. A. Meigs)
Early one morning, Sam and I spied a black furry butt sticking out of the brush up ahead. We stopped in our tracks. I said to Sam, “Well, that’s either a bear or a hog.” At that, the animal backed out of the foliage. It was still a distance away, but I could see by its ears that it was a wild hog. A large one. Hogs usually run away, but this one stood his ground. I have seen what wild hogs can do to a dog (and humans, for that matter) so Sam and I changed direction. While I enjoy seeing wildlife, I realize it is important to give them lots of space. I have no doubt there were countless times when Sam and I were in close proximity to animals we never saw, because they had the good sense to move off without giving themselves away.
(Credit: E. A. Meigs)
Becoming a writer.
Eventually, I found work writing and editing. Also, I put in a few years as managing editor for an academic journal. I learned a lot about the publishing business, how books are laid-out, and I was finally able to use my love of words in my profession.
It had always been my goal to find a way to combine my love of nature/writing/history, but I never planned to write a book series chronicling the adventures of a Neanderthal man.
I later recounted this information to a friend. After a brief pause during which she looked me up and down, she said, “Was there a picture of you in that article?” No, but there may as well have been. More recent discoveries have found that they had a wider variety of hair, eye, and skin coloring, and some were in fact a bit taller, but from that time on, I must admit I felt an affinity for the Neanderthal.
Illustration from The Dreamer III ~ The People of the Wolves (Image credit: E. A. Meigs)
The Dreamer Book Series
Fast-forward a number of years to a February morning in 2015, when I woke up with The Dreamer in my head. Like all my novels, I had no idea where the plot came from, it just suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Initially, I didn’t know it would be a series. As the writing progressed, I soon realized the story needed to broken up into multiple volumes. So, onward I forged, pulling Tris’s story out of my brain one tap of the keyboard at a time.
Making Use of a Lifetime’s Experiences
Finally, much of the “useless” historical, zoological, anthropological, wilderness survival, etc., data gathering dust in my head can be utilized! Some of the plots take place around actual historical events and locations, so I did my best to seek out as much information as can be found on these topics. And, of course, I did general research all the time.
Additionally, every now and then I squeeze in an online University course. As ever, I remain hungry to learn more. Not only because of my burning quest for knowledge, but because I want to provide enough layers of depth and realism to make the tales seem plausible for the reader. We may never know what life was really like during the last Ice Age, but it is my hope to offer a literary portal to that perilous – and yet magnificent – juncture in time.
Just before dawn on a cold spring morning, a young Neanderthal man awakens from a strange and frightening dream that will change his life forever…
Dreamer Books 1 -5. Book 6, The Dreamer VI ~ The Outsiders is due to be released in the summer of 2021. (Header & graphics by E. A. Meigs, cover photos by Paula Krugerud.)
After completing Archeoastronomy last year, I promised myself I would take a break…but here I go again with Forensic Anthropology (Princeton Online).
As a writer of historical fiction, I have been able to indulge my passion for science and history. In the study of prehistory, we are heavily dependent on science to help us delve into the mysteries of the past. Due to the fact that much of what we know about ancient life is gained through examining and interpreting clues found in fossilized bones, it is important to understand what may be gleaned from those valuable artifacts. Therefore, I have completed Osteoarcheology, and now I tackle Forensic Anthropology.
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BTW, my copy editor has returned The Dreamer VI ~ The Outsiders manuscript and I have already begun the final rounds of editing. The production schedule is still on time for a Summer 2021 release!
“The Dreamer VI ~ The Outsiders” is now in the hands of the copy editor!
The latest installment in the ongoing Ice Age saga is still on-track to be published this summer! Embark on a journey to an ancient land; to a time when life was broken down to its most basic elements and survival depended upon strength of mind and body, and the strength of relationships with those around you.
As the owner of a website and a number of social media pages, I have had the pleasure of (virtually) meeting a lot of people. I enjoy talking with these folks, even if we don’t always agree. Polite discourse can be mentally stimulating and educational. Theories come and go. Ideas once considered to be rock-solid may be disproved. There are many things we will never know about early humans, but it’s always fun to speculate about those who tread this earth before us. It was during one of these recent conversations when a link to popular site was sent to me, by way of backing up his argument. If the page had been thoroughly researched and up-to-date (its sole citation was a paper from the 1860s), that would have been fine, but sadly, despite its popularity, it was a very poor source of information.
I have a systematic way to identify and assess research materials. I was fortunate to have held a managing editor position for an academic journal. It taught me about the academic publication process, which was quite a different experience as compared with the general media. This was a peer-reviewed journal that only published a small percentage of its submissions. Papers were carefully considered for their academic merit and whether or not the subject was current (or had an angle worth revisiting), but another important aspect was the references. How old were the papers that were cited? Were they published in a reputable source? You see, in the “publish or perish” academic world, a lot of papers are submitted to journals, leaving the staff to sift through for content that is both fresh and insightful.
Nowadays I devote many hours to research for my books; over a thousand hours per year, in fact. I read everything I can find on the subjects of anthropology, osteoarchaeology, paleoanthropology, natural history, geology, ancient survival skills, and more. I assess my sources in the same way I assessed submissions. Is it current information? Are the references recent/credible? As mentioned in the video included on this blog, many of best resources are academic in nature. Not just published papers, but there are many wonderfully informative websites such as:
On the flip-side, there are also many popular websites – some associated with well-known entities – that may contain odd bits of misinformation. The field of paleoanthropology grows by leaps and bounds (especially during the last few years), so it requires a certain determination to stay on top of the constant influx of discoveries and new theories.
While one can forgive writers of fiction for using creative license as long as it is identified as fiction, it is unfortunate that entertainment articles are often put forth as serious science. You don’t have to be writing a paper or book to benefit from perusing the best resources, but I do think it’s important to consider the quality of the materials that will help you formulate your own ideas. Not that I mean to say you should shun any article that isn’t strictly scientific; there are many “fluff” pieces that contain good information, but you should go into it knowing it for what it is. If the article is entertaining and contains a few nuggets of real info, that’s great!
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In the future I will be writing another blog about my non-academic research. After all, there are many facets of history that are not covered by science, alone. There is much to be known about primitive life that is best learned from those who practice those ancient skills!
Anthony Yocolano aka the Neanderthal Mind interviews author Rebecca Wragg Sykes:
“Well Cave Dwellers, there you have it, and that’s just the first part of two with Rebecca Wragg Sykes. I am on the second round of Rebecca’s book, Kindred, Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art. I just love how Rebecca tells a story of a day in the life of a Neanderthal, as the opening to the next chapter, it really draws the reader/listener in, and gets you ready for the next chapter.”
Part One
Part Two
Podcast and logo shared with permission from The Neanderthal Mind. Header graphics by E. A. Meigs, cover photos by Paula Krugerud.
Venus figurines have been discovered throughout much of Eurasia, most dating between 11,000 to 40,000 BCE*. These saucy ladies have been the subject of much study and conjecture. Were they fertility symbols? Some sort of Mother Earth/Mother Nature goddesses? Or were they merely meant to depict womanhood in full flower (so to speak); a visual testimony to the artist’s admiration for the female form in all her glory? We can only guess, but it is fun to speculate on the motive(s) and mindset(s) of their creators.
Eurasian Cave Lion (Illustration credit: Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga, by E. A. Meigs)
The Eurasian Cave Lion(Panthera spelaea) is known to us mostly through its fossilized skeletal remains and the exquisitely detailed imagery left behind by early humans on cave walls. The fossils tell a tale of a large predator, somewhat bigger than today’s African lions. They may have been as much as 11 and a half feet in length from their nose to the tip of their tail, and reached weights of up to 880 pounds. Male cave lions are depicted without manes in cave art. Some of the ancient paintings seem to show faint striping on parts of the cave lion’s body.
These impressive animals are included in several of the Dreamer Book Series: An Ice Age Saga novels; as they surely would have been well known to Ice Age humans and been a source of awe and -at least occasionally- terror, to those who encountered them. This versatile and fearsome hunter was known to inhabit most of Eurasia and the very northwestern parts of the North American continent.
In 2015 two cave lion cubs were discovered where they had been buried in a landslide in Siberia, and were preserved in permafrost for tens of thousands of years. The approximately two week old kittens were were an astounding find and have done much to contribute to our understanding of these animals. A well-preserved third cub, about six to eight weeks old at time of death, was also found in permafrost in 2017. Lastly, a fourth cub was located in 2018. It was found near the 2017 cub; close enough to make scientists think that it might have been a sibling. There is speculation that future digs might reveal the existence of more siblings, or possibly even the remains of the cubs’ mother.
The most recent Eurasian cave lion remains have been dated to about 14,000 years *BCE. They are believed to have gone extinct by 10,000 years *BCE.
The Woolly mammoth was a large animal that lived in Eurasia and North America. It was similar in size to today’s African elephants, but with considerably longer tusks, a shorter tail, and much smaller ears. The bulls could be up to 11 feet high at the withers and weigh over 12,000 pounds. Cows were somewhat smaller, but still impressive in size at up to 9 1/2 feet at the withers and weights of up to 9000 pounds. Their furry hides came in a wide range of colors from blond to brown. Individual strands of the outer guard hairs could be as much as 42″ long.
Most mammoths are believed to have gone extinct near the end of the last Ice Age, approximately 10,000 ago, but some are thought to have eked out an existence on Wrangle Island until about 4000 years ago.
Now comes the long editing process! The latest installment of The Dreamer Book Series: An Ice Age Saga is expected to be released during the summer of 2021.
Many thanks to The Neanderthal Mind for allowing me to be part of your podcast! It was a pleasure to speak with Anthony and to have an opportunity to talk about my books. I hope listeners enjoy the show!
Part One:
Part Two:
I sat down with E.A. Meigs this Saturday for a conversation on a plethora of awesome subjects, but most importantly, E.A. Meigs series titled, The Dreamer Series. The Series takes place 40,000 years ago and follows the life of a young Neanderthal Man named Tris. The series is 5 books published, with a 6th one due very soon. Check out E.A. Meigs episode on The Neanderthal Mind podcast. We will include links to E.A. Meigs site and Social Media Links. You can go check her site out now, and dive headfirst into the Neanderthal world. Please subscribe to The Neanderthal Mind podcast to hear E.A. Meigs interview.
E. A. Meigs has a long varied career beginning with working on boats and in the commercial fishing industry, which also includes employment with the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, Fish and Wildlife, Forestry Department, as well as a columnist for PrimeTime, editor/contributor for Patch.com, and managing editor for The Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks/Online Learning. Meigs now owns and operates an independent publishing house called Dreamer Literary Productions, LLC, and is the author of The Dreamer Book Series: An Ice Age Saga. Book VI in that series is currently in production. A second Ice-Age themed book series for children will debut in 2021. Meigs has two daughters and seven grandchildren. Meigs is passionate about history, especially as it pertains to natural history and paleoanthropology, and constantly strives to add to her store of knowledge regarding outdoor life-skills.
The Neanderthal Mind Podcast
Podcast and logo shared with permission from The Neanderthal Mind.
I’m pleased to announce that the first draft of the fourth book in the on-going ice age saga “The Dreamer IV ~ The Cave of Bones” is complete! Now comes the editing process! The Dreamer IV is due to be released in the summer of 2019. Read more about this and other books in the series at: https://dreamerliteraryproductions.com/
Image by E. A. Meigs, Find the Dream Book Series’ Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/theiceageworldofthedreamerbookseries/
I am pleased to announce that my on-going saga has made the news! The Cape Cod Chronicle’s Debra Lawless has penned a nifty half-page article which appears in this week’s (Nov. 29, 2018) issue! I’m so excited!
I love to pack up my books and send them off into the world. There, I hope they will reach into the minds and hearts of others, and spur their imaginations to experience life in a distant past with all the drama and adventure, and perhaps most surprisingly, find that humans have struggled with many of the same problems throughout the millennia.
“The Dreamer III ~ The People of the Wolves” has been put to bed! It is available only in eBook format for now, but the hardcover and paperback versions have been ordered. Depending on how backed-up the printer is, I should have copies ready to send out in a week or two!
The Dreamer: Just before dawn on a cold spring morning, a young Neanderthal man awakens from a strange and frightening dream that will change his life forever…
