Episode 6: The Clan of the Cave Bear (1986)

Today we’re joined by Prof. Mirjana Roksandic to discuss The Clan of the Cave Bear, a story about a modern human adopted by a clan of Neanderthals. Author Jean Auel did a commendable amount of research for her book series, but scientific paradigms change fast in palaeoanthropology. How does the movie hold up 35 years later? Let’s find out! (Note: this episode contains a brief discussion of scenes depicting sexual violence) In this episode: Genetics of skin and hair colour: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2016.0349 Cave Bear cults: https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/the-cult-of-the-cave-bear/ The Shanidar 1 Neanderthal burial, Iraq: https://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/fossils/shanidar-1 Clan of the Cave Bear and Feminism: https://slate.com/culture/2014/05/clan-of-the-cave-bear-and-feminism-dystopian-precedent-to-the-hunger-games.html Human hybridization: Neanderthal mother, Denisovan Father: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-06004-0