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04.07.09

Prehistoric Fiction Bibliography

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654 titles
"pure" (296) - juvenile (104) - prehistoric-related (171)
Bronze Age (13) - Iron Age (5) - Reference (7)
"pure" story - juvenile story - prehistoric-related story
Click codes shown in boxes (or images) to view at Amazon.com (etc.)

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Nathan, Robert [1894-1985]. 1965. The Mallot Diaries. 8vo. 174 pp. 1st ed., New York. Alfred A. Knopf.*
Late fantasy novel by the prolific Nathan, a well-regarded tale about cave people and the modern world. Two anthropologists find a tribe of Neanderthals in the mountains of Arizona and spend a month with them, barely escaping when the youth of the tribe revolt and overthrow their elders in a violent revolution... a protest against, among other things, the unfair distribution of the jelly beans and root beer they acquire in their monthly trade expedition. This time, the steam whistle on the old locomotive doesn't protect them...
Neville, Kris (Ottman) [1925-1980]. 1967. Run, the Spearmaker. in: Riverside Quarterly, Vol. 3, #1, Aug. 1967.
_____. 1967 (1975). Yari-zukuri no Ran. Japanese. translated from the English Run, the Spearmaker by Tetsu Yano. illustrated by Toru Kanamori (cover). Tokyo. Hayakawa Bunko (SF175).
ESF: "Among the fiction Neville wrote with his wife, Lil, is a 1975 novel published only in Japanese whose title translates as Run, the Spearmaker"
Nida, William Lewis [1874-]. 1911. Ab the Cave Man; A story of the time of the stone age. illustrated by Simon Harmon Vedder (8 color illustrations). (adapted for young readers from Stanley Waterloo's "Story of Ab"). 166 pp. 19 cm, Chicago, New York. A. Flanagan Company. (1911, 1918: New York, Grosset & Dunlap, illus. by Fred Stearns. 19.6 cm, illus. endpapers; 1923, 1934, 1937: A. Flanagan)*

1911 Flanagan

1918 G&D

1937 Flanagan
 Preface by William Nida:
For nearly a dozen years it has been my pleasure to observe the intense interest shown by second grade pupils as they listened to the "Story of Ab" from the lips of their teachers. No other book available has held our children so completely in its spell. Teachers in other schools reporting the same lively enthusiasm for the story among their pupils, it seemed an injustice to childhood not to make an effort to put "Ab" within the reach of every child.
By special arrangements with Messrs. Doubleday, Page & Co. and Mr. Waterloo, the author of "Ab", the work is now ready for the little folks. I have followed Mr. Waterloo's book closely save for two chapters which are my own.
My gratitude is due Miss Mabel Pumphrey and Miss Florence Gardiner of Oak Park...
_____. 1929. The Tree Boys. illustrated by Grace Betts. Vol. I of "The Story of Man". 128 pp. 20 cm, Chicago. Laidlaw Brothers.*
KIP AND TIM
Kip was a tree boy.
Tim was a tree boy, too.
The boys lived in a tree.
They lived in a tall, tall tree.
Mofa was the mother.
She lived in the tree, too.
She lived in the tree hut.
Mofa loved her tree boys.		   She loved her Baby Bark.
"Do not fall, Baby Bark," said Mofa.
"I will play on the ground," said Tim.
Kip will play on the ground, too."
"No, no. Play in the tree," said Mother.
"Lions live on the ground.
Tigers live on the ground.
Tree boys play in the tree." ...
_____. 1929. Fleetfoot the Cave Boy. illustrated by Grace Betts. Vol. II of "The Story of Man". 192 pp. 19.2 cm, Chicago. Laidlaw Brothers.*
RUNNING FROM A FOREST FIRE

The sun was going down. A big black cloud was rolling up.
"A big storm is coming," shouted little Fleetfoot. "Wind God is roaring through the trees. He may blow our house out of the big oak tree."
Lightning split the sky. It struck a tree in Black Forest and set it on fire. The wind was blowing the fire from tree to tree.
"Fire! Fire!" shouted Fleetfoot to Mother in the oak tree. "Climb down! Be quick! Fire God will bite you up there." ...

_____. 1930. Taming the Animals. illustrated by Grace Betts. Vol. III of "The Story of Man". 240 pp. 20 cm, Chicago, NY. Laidlaw Brothers.*
A BATTLE WITH HUNGRY WOLVES

The sun was setting behind the mountains as Whirlwind came running to the camp fire, shouting, "Wolves! Wolves are chasing me! They are close behind!"
"Wolves will not attack our camp in daylight," said Red Crown, chief of the Bison Clan, "unless they are very, very hungry."
"I shot all my arrows at them and ran," said the boy.
"You should not waste your arrows on the wolves," replied Red Crown. "You must go and find your arrows tomorrow."
The Bison Clan had been hunting all day. They could not find reindeer or wild horses. ...

_____. 1931. Dan-Hur and the First Farmers. illustrated by Grace Betts. Vol. IV of "The Story of Man". 256 pp. 19.2 cm, Chicago. Laidlaw Brothers.*
LIVING IN TENTS

Blind Eron's tribe had many black tents scattered about in the valleys. He had nine sons who were the master herders of his flocks. Each son with his servants took his black tent, his dogs, and his herd to some quiet valley to graze for many days. They took dried meat to use with their milk and cheese for food.
They took good care of their herds, for the animals gave them nearly all the food they had.
About each black tent there was much doing. You might hear the barking of dogs and the whining of puppies, for mother dogs with pups could not follow the herds till the little ones were grown a bit. ...

Nolan, Dennis. 1989. Wolf Child. (Reading level: Ages 9-12). 40 pp. 23.5 cm, 1st, New York: Macmillan. London: Collier MacMillan. ISBN: 0027681416.*
from the dustjacket:
Teo has no friends. Too weak to hunt with the men and too old to gather roots and herbs with the women and children, he has become the apprentice of the old toolmaker, Mova. But Mova, silent and absorbed in his work, is poor company for a lonely nine-year-old.
Then one day Teo makes a friend: an orphaned wolf cub.
more...
Nordlund, Les. 1999. Dust. 272 pp. Winepress Publishing. ISBN: 1579211860.
The journey of a strange child from a prehistoric Pishon river village to the fertile Euphrates valley.
Norman, John (pseudonym for John Frederick Lange, Jr.) [1931-]. 1975. Time Slave. 380 pp. DAW pbk.*

Sado-masochistic sexist trash. A young, beautiful, female scientist, duped into believing she had been hired for a research project, is demeaned and tortured by her male "colleagues", reduced to slavery and sent back in time to become the sex-slave of a stone-age tribe.

Norton, Andre (pseudonym for Alice Mary Norton) [1912-]. 1958. The Time Traders. (Alice Norton also writes as Andrew North and Allen Weston). 218 pp. 21 cm, New York. World Publishing Co. (Ace pbk, D-461, NY, nd.; [1960] 1st pbk, 191pp)
included in "Time Traders"...
_____. 1959. Galactic Derelict. . New York. World Publishing Co. ISBN: 9991134573. (Ace pbk, 246pp, 8th ptg: 7/78)
What problems would modern man encounter if he could go back to the early times of primitive man? In a daring experiment in time transfer, Travis Fox, a modern Apache, joins Ross Murdock and Dr. Gordon Ashe on a perilous journey to investigate an alien spaceship wrecked in the age of the Folsom man.
_____. 1967. Operation Time Search. 224 pp. New York. Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc.
"When Ray Osborne, a young American photographer, was precipitated suddenly from the twentieth century into a prehistoric age, he did not know that he had blundered into the field of an experimental time machine. But he soon realized that the new world was a hostile one when he was captured by a strange group of hunters, speaking no language he had ever heard. Only after he met the Murian, Cho, and was able to communicate with him telepathically, did he learn that they were both prisoners of the ruthless city-state Atlantis, which was preparing a war of annihilation against the golden kingdom of Mu. Once they had managed to escape, Ray was increasingly aware that he could not avoid taking part in the coming struggle, but the nature of that part, and its magnitude, was not revealed to him until he had witnessed incredible horrors in the enemy's stronghold. Then at last he understood the justice of the cause he was serving and accepted the fate thrust upon him."
_____. 2000. Time Traders. Combined edition of "The Time Traders" and "Galactic Derelict". 370 pp. BAEN.
Intelligence agents have uncovered something which seems beyond belief, but the evidence is incontrovertible: the USA's greatest adversary on the world stage is sending its agents back through time! And someone or something unknown to our history is presenting them with technologies... and weapons... far beyond our most advanced science. We have only one option: create time-transfer technology ourselves, find the opposition's ancient source... and take it down. more...

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Oard, Michael & Beverly. 1993. Life in the Great Ice Age. illustrated by Earl & Bonita Snellenberger. Gloria Clanin, editor. New Leaf Press. ISBN: 0890511675.
After Noah's Flood the earth and its climate were undergoing drastic changes. The stage had been set for the Great Ice Age. Noah's descendants had to learn how to survive in a strange often hostile land. In part one of Life in the Great Ice Age, we'll spend a summer with Jabeth and his family as they survive a saber-toothed tiger attack, battle a cave bear, and go on a wooly mammoth hunt. Part two explains the scientific reasons for the Ice Age: what caused it, and how long it lasted. It answers the questions, "Will there be another Ice age?" Archaeological and fossil finds are also discussed in detail in this exciting book that explains the Great Ice Age from a Biblical perspective.
Obruchev, V(ladimir) A(fanas'evich) [1863-1956]. (1915) 1957. Plutonia, An adventure through prehistory. translated from the Russian Plutoniia by Fainna Solasko. illustrated by G. Nikolsky. Moscow. Foreign Languages Publishing House. (London, Lawrence & Wishart, tr. Brian Pearce, ill. E.J. Pagram. 319 pp. NY, Criterion Books, 22cm, 253pp, 1961, ISBN: 5050016916; Moscow: Foreign Languages Pub. House, 1957; 1958, 1982, 1988, 1990) ˆ*
A hollow-earth adventure... Early in the 20th century a team of Russian scientists embarks on an Arctic expedition, and discovers the entrance to another world within the earth, where a "sun" shines overhead constantly. Flora and fauna become older and older as they progress more deeply, and they finally come to a world of dinosaurs. On their way back out, closer to the entrance, they encounter a tribe of primitive ape-men, resembling Neanderthals... more...
_____. (1925) 1955. Sannikov Land. translated from the Russian Zemlia Sannikova by David Skvirsky. illustrated by Y. Krasny. 372 pp. Moscow. Foreign Languages Publishing Co. ISBN: 5050016908. (Moscow: Raduga Publishers 1988 pbk)
First published in 1925, this 'scientific romance' book by Soviet geologist/geographer/traveller Obruchev relates the story of an expedition to find a mysterious island, an Arctic volcanic crater containing flora and fauna of a remote geological period. The five expedition members encounter stone age men, mammoths and cave bears, and discover the reason for the disappearance of the Onkilon tribe, who once inhabited Northern Siberia.
Obukhova, Lydia [1924-]. (1974). Daughter of Night; a tale of three worlds. translated from the Russian Lilit by Mirra Ginsburg. 161 pp. 22 cm, New York. Macmillan. ISBN: 0-02-768500-4.*
From the dust-jacket:
On earth, it is the dawn of history. Lilith, daughter of night, and the hunter Odam, who have been forbidden to marry, have run away to live together. One day, searching for honey, Lilith sees a strange man step out of an egg-shaped module that has dropped from the sky. Adventurous, and lured by the unknown, Lilith, overcomes her fear and superstition and befriends "the Nameless One," as she describes the stranger.
more...

See Paul Barry's "Chad Oliver" page at
http://www.speakeasy.org/~anitra/books/sffh/chadoliver.html

University of Texas: In Memoriam - SYMMES CHADWICK OLIVER and here

Oliver, Chad (Symmes Chadwick) [1928-1993]. 1952. Mists of Dawn. 208 pp. 1st ed., Philadelphia. Winston. (1954: London, Hutchinson, 240pp; photographic reprint: Boston, Gregg Press, 1979) ´*
17-year-old Mark is accidentally sent back to 50,000 years BC at the end of the last Ice Age, the Upper Pleistocene, where he is captured by Neanderthals, rescued by Cro-Magnons. He stays with them, participates in a Mammoth hunt...—For a fuller synopsis, read Paul Barry's page.
× Orgill, Douglas [1922-1984] & John Gribbin [1946-] . 1982. Brother Esau. 1st US, New York. Harper & Row. ISBN: 0060390166.
Not prehistoric man. "High in the Himalayas a remarkable killer is at work. This creature can break the back of a snow leopard or a pony, and the international archeological team working in the area can no more explain how a pony's head was ripped off clean than they can explain the very different datings of two strange skulls found side by side in a cave.
That is, until the day that a collapsing wall traps a very strange creature. Something between a gorilla and a man — barrel-shaped, powerful, wordless but not voiceless — from the very first it casts a peculiar spell of familiarity, and possibilities of affection on some, but not all, of the humans in its vicinity."
So begins this novel of man's long-lost brother. Ancestor? Abominable Snowman? DNA tests show him to be definitely Homo, if not sapiens...
Osborne, Chester Gorham [1915-]. 1951. The First Bow and Arrow. illustrated by Richard Osborne. 88 pp. 24.5 cm, Chicago, New York, Toronto. Wilcox & Follett Co. (2nd, 1952; 3rd printing, 1957)*
The Chief was the tallest man in the tribe. He looked down, at Grandpa Ol.
"What is all this noise about?" he said.
"A bear!" cried Grandpa Ol. "A great Cave Bear as big as two men! He could jump right over the ladder. He could kill us all!"
Grandpa Ol was terrified, and so was everyone in Chicka's tribe. They lived long before history began, and their only weapons were rough clubs and spears, and heavy stones. They could never stand against the terrible claws of the fierce Cave Bear.
Boys and girls from 7 to 11 will enjoy reading this exciting story about the boy Chicka, and the weapon that he invented to save his people.
_____. 1953. The First Puppy. foreword by Melville J Herskovits, Dept. of Anth., NW University. illustrated by Richard N. Osborne. 128 pp. 24 cm, New York. Wilcox & Follet. (1953: 2nd, 3rd printings)*
Great Bear's people are full of fear when his little sister Mea brings home a wolf cub. Everyone knows that wolves are full of magic, and that it is terribly bad luck to injure one. All through the summer the tribe is haunted by the wolf pack. When the hunters set out to find game, they are followed by the pack and barely escape with their lives. And in the meantime, the wolf cub refuses to leave Mea's side.
Another exciting easy to read story about the warrior of prehistoric times who was the hero of Chester Osborne's first book. Boys and girls of 7 to 11 will find The First Puppy every bit as thrilling to read as The First Bow And Arrow.
_____. 1956. The First Lake Dwellers. foreword by Melville J Herskovits, Dept. of Anth., NW University. illustrated by Richard N. Osborne. (Ages 9-12). 126 pp. 24.5 cm, New York. Follett Publishing Company.*
from the dustjacket:
Enemies destroy the lake people's village, steal their stores of grain, and capture Arvi's father, Chief Calling Hawk. Arvi finds a way to build a shelter on his father's fishing raft on the lake. There he and his mother and sister are safe from human enemies and from wild animals too.
more...
_____. 1959. The First Wheel. illustrated by Richard N. Osborne. 128 pp. Chicago. Follett Publishing Co.
The story of Ashna, a Sumerian boy who thinks of a way to improve log rollers that moved sledges.
_____. 1959. The Wind and the Fire. illustrated by Rafaello Busoni. Englewood Cliffs, NJ. Prentice Hall Press.
In the wilderness of Ireland, in the days before history, stone-age folk made a discovery that began a new age in the development of civilization. This story of that significant find -- the discovery of bronze -- graphically depicts how it was first made and used by primitive man. Var, a chieftain's son, and his friend, Thoril, are alarmed at the sight of strangers armed with knives longer than any they have ever seen, and hurry to alert their village. When the crannog people learn more of the dangerous "long Knives" and their strange weapons from Elgir, the trader, Cheif Aran agrees to a daring plan to find the secret of the new material for their own uses. How the boys help to bring bronze-making to their people, and to defend newly-found ore deposits from enemy attack, makes a story filled with excitement and suspense.
_____. 1967. The Silver Anchor. illustrated by Brendan Lynch. 160 pp. Chicago. Follett Publishing Company.
A boys adventure story taking place in ancient Phoenicia and a sea voyage.
_____. 1984. The Memory String. 154 pp. 21.6 cm, 1st edition, New York. Atheneum. ISBN: 068931020X.*

Ronald Himler
 Game was harder and harder to find. More and more people were moving onto the land that the tribe had always felt was theirs. And they themselves had been guilty of killing more animals than they really needed. So Darath was especially upset when he found that strangers had destroyed his father Catching Spear's trap line.
This was the beginning of a long fall and winter for Darath, his sister Kiona, and for the White Trees, the totem group to which they belonged. They lived on the Siberian peninsula of Kamchatka, some thirty thousand years ago. And it was the adventures of that winter that sent them on an even greater adventure — a trip to a new world. more...
Osborne, Mary Pope. 1996. Sunset of the Sabertooth. illustrated by Sal Murdocca. (Reading level: Ages 4-8). 67 pp. 20 cm, Magic Tree House, #7, New York. Random House. ISBN: 0679863737 (CAN) 0679963731(GLB).
The magic tree house transports Jack and Annie on a mission to the Ice Age where they encounter Cro-Magnons, cave bears, sabertooth tigers, and woolly mammoths.

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Pangborn, Edgar [1909-1976]. 1952. The Singing Stick. in: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, August 1952, pp 3-19.*
A prehistoric murder mystery, winner of the Special Award of Merit in the EQMM Seventh Annual Contest.

Beyond the river was the melancholy green, almost blackness of advancing pine forest. Ambling naked from his cave into afternoon sunshine, Gnar-of-the-Long-Arms, the Old Man, the leader of the tribe, gazed across the valley. Trouble would come; when it came, the pines would know.
The pines were kindred to the Not-Men they sheltered — bear, wolf, snake; kin to the black leopard who five winters ago had writhed past Samar's spear when that Old Man's foot had slipped, giving Gnar leadership of the tribe. The pines knew... full text

Perkins, Lucy Fitch [1865-1937]. 1916. The Cave Twins. 170 pp. 21.8 cm, Boston & New York. Houghton, Mifflin. ISBN: 0891904670. (1968: New York, Walker) ´*
One in a series of stories that introduce a period of history and a geographical location through the adventures of twins. Here, cave twins Firetop and Firefly take us to prehistoric days when man was a hunter and wore the skins of animals.
more...
Pesando, F.J.. 1994. Sisters of the Black Moon. 381 pp. 18 cm, pbk, New York. Onyx. ISBN: 0451404408.*
California 12,000 years ago. The great glacial wall of ice has melted. Now the way is open for spear-carrying tribes from the north to swarm southward to the abundant coastal land, home to the saber-toothed tiger and bear, the wolf and mastodon, the giant sloth and long-necked camel. It is home as well to the beautiful Tidelander sisters, Morning Land and White Bird.These two have only each other, and their own strength, skill and spirit, to help them survive when their tribe is annihilated by invading warriors. This is their story -- an epic of courage, passion, drama, set in a world both shiningly new and magically old, where together men and women face the challenges of danger, the tumult of desire, the timeless realities of life and love.
Pierce, Meredith Ann [1958-]. 1985 (2000). The Woman Who Loved Reindeer. 242 pp. 22 cm, 1st ed., Boston. Atlantic Monthly Press. ISBN: 0152017992 (0871130424). (and TOR pbk, 1989, ISBN: 0812503058; 2000: Magic Carpet Books, pbk, 242pp)*
When her sister-in-law brings her a strange golden baby to care for, a young girl, living in the cold lands far to the north, is unaware that this unusual child will help her fulfill her destiny as leader of her people.
In a wintery land where two moons shine, a young girl named Caribou falls in love with a man who isn't a man at all...
more...
Popescu, Petru [1944-]. 1996. Almost Adam: a novel. (Kenya). xvi, 544 pp. 25 cm, New York. William Morrow. ISBN: 0380728249 (0688148638).*
In an unexplored Kenyan savanna, a paleoanthropologist finds a boy whose physical characteristics match those of the "missing link" and realizes that he's discovered a place that has escaped the normal evolutionary processes. Soon the modern world threatens to encroach on his bond with the boy as a poacher tracks them down and another anthropologist threatens to steal the discovery. Their only hope is to disappear into the forest with the boy's tribe. (Amazon)
Potter, Eugene. 1978. The Children of Cain. in: Galileo, #10, 1978, pp 30-31, 37-40.*
Jane Benamou pushed the high-powered rifle up on her shoulder so it didn't jab her back. The weapon was a nuisance, but she could not visualize going anywhere without it in the Lower Pleistocene African savanna (with who knows what kind of predators about). She spoke into the microphone of her notetaker.
"Day 150. Lower Pleistocene Expedition One, Southeastern Research Synod. 0900 Hours: The troop is watering at the lake. Their 'guardian' stands away at a distance of about fifteen meters..."
Prentiss, Charlotte. 1993. Children of the Ice. 494 pp. 18 cm, New York. Onyx Books. ISBN: 0451177924 (pbk.).*
It is 15,000 years ago, at the end of the last Ice Age, when young Laena and her sister survive a tragedy that leaves their parents dead and marks their lives forever. In a world where mammoths roam, where nature's most fearful forces rage, and where fellow humans can pose a deadly threat, Laena relies on her incredible courage, strength, and intelligence to endure. This is Laena's story... the story of her seer-like visions of a world beyond that shapes her into a tribal leader in a society of arrogant men... the story of Laena's triumph as the Chosen One, only to be cast out into the wilderness with her husband and child. Laena and her family embark on a great journey that takes them from the vast Siberian tundra and the frezing darkness of the prehistoric past to the fiery dawn of breathtaking discovery -- a new world, a new age, and a new dream of happiness...
_____. 1995. People of the Mesa. bibliography p. 413-16. 416 pp. 18 cm, New York. Onyx Books. ISBN: 0451178505.*
The last Ice Age had ended. The glaciers had retreated, and the Great Plains teemed anew with wildlife. Marauding tribes of human hunters lived and killed little better than beasts. One tribe that believed in peace, justice, and love gave males and females equal footing. But now they were threatened with destruction by hostile nature and vicious enemies.
This is the epic story of that tribe and of Mara, the defiant descendant of a proud line of leaders, who would let no man break her spirit, despite the frailty of her flesh... and no foe destroy her people, despite all their treachery and terror.
_____. 1995. Children of the Sun. 413 pp. 18 cm, New York. Onyx Books. ISBN: 0451178513 (pbk.).*
In the American southwest, ten thousand years after the last Ice Age swept the earth, a peaceful tribe of cave dwellers hunt and till the land. Beautiful, sensuous Nisha, known as the defiant one, dares to choose her own mate despite the tribe's disapproval. And together, the fierce passion between these two gives life to an infant son, destined to become the Great Hunter.
But one night, under a sky filled with ominous stars, Nisha's world is viciously destroyed by a pillaging, raping tribe of nomads. Watching in helpless horror as her husband and son are murdered, Nisha vows revenge. With relentless wit and wile, she plays her captors against each other, titillating them with a new kind of lovemaking, outsmarting and taming their brutishness. And with the triumphant courage of a resolute risk taker, Nisha escapes into a new life, filled with new adventure, passion -- and love.
_____. 1997. The Island Tribe. 355 pp. 18 cm, New York. HarperPrism. ISBN: 006101012X.*
Set in the Pacific Northwest 12,000 years ago... Kori lives in a world of constant danger. Monstrous beasts devour brave hunters; earthquakes shake the homes of her tribe; and far to the west, Mount Tomomour belches fire into the sky. She is the chieftain's daughter, privileged yet shunned by the rest of her tribe because of her independent, willful nature. Her people live in fear of the Earth Spirits that rule the land with casual cruelty, but Kori refuses to recognize their power. She rebels — and is cast out, forced to fend for herself in the forest on the western shore.But even as she finds fulfillment there in the arms of a brave warrior, Kori discovers the startling truth about her world. She is determined to enlighten her people, but first she must confront a looming catastrophe that threatens to eradicate all life in the place she has come to love.
_____. 1999. The Ocean Tribe. 378 pp. 18 cm, pbk, New York. HarperPaperbacks. ISBN: 0061010111.*
Hers was an ancient land of beauty and bloodshed...
Turning away from warfare and superstition, Kori and her husband, Uroh, left their people to found the Ocean Tribe, a group of peace-loving wanderers turned fishermen and hunters. Led by a strong and beautiful female warrior, protected by the mysterious sea, they had no enemies. Or so Kori thought. Yet a bitter foe lies deep within the tribe itself, poised to strike.
The tribe's peaceful existence begins to crumble when a stranger named Werror appears, seeking refuge after ruthless fighters decimate his village. Skilled and clever, this powerful man both captivates and disturbs Kori. Little does she know that he is about to lead her into the ultimate betrayal...and a battle for survival that will shatter everything she believes about herself and her world.
Pringle, David. 1999. Introduction to Rider Haggard's "Allan and the Ice Gods". in: H. Rider Haggard: Allan and the Ice Gods. text. 296 pp. 20 cm. pbk, UK. Pulp Fictions.
Pryor, Bonnie. 1988. Seth of the Lion People. illustrated by Beth Peck. 117 pp. New York. Morrow. ISBN: 0606067256 (0688073271).*
When Magli, Teller-of-Stories, was leader of the Lion People, he made certain that the cave dwellers never forgot their beginnings or the wisdom that helped them survive. For a time it seemed that Seth, crippled from childhood, would follow in his father's footsteps.
Suddenly Magli is leader no more and Seth faces a barrage of taunts — "old one leg" — led by the new leader's cruel son. Seth fears that even if, as his dying father intends, he should succeed Magli as Teller-of-Stories, he'll have little value in a clan that now measures a man's worth by his hunting and fighting skills. Perhaps he'd fare better beyond the mountains that had always rimmed the Lion People's world...
more...
Pumphrey, S.L.. 1890. A Little Brown Pebble. Frontis., 9 b/w full page illus. Decorated eps. Text on each page printed within a decorated border. viii, [1]-128 pp. 22x18 cm, London. W.H. Allen & Co., 13 Waterloo Place, Pall Mall S.W. (1899, 1902)*
The story of a pebble from the beginnings of the Earth to the present day. Written for children "to draw their attention to the fairy tales of Science."
Chapter I. Which shows how the Pebble came by an Interpreter, the Children came by a wonderful Story, and the poor old Uncle came by all this Work
Chapter II. Which shows how the Brown Pebble became a Brown Pebble.
Chapter III. Which shows that Strange Creatures lived in the Ancient Seas
Chapter IV. Which shows that there were beautiful Forests long ago
Chapter V. Which shows that Monsters inhabited Land and Sea
Chapter VI. Which shows that once upon a time England was very hot
Chapter VII. Which shows that afterwards England was very cold
Chapter VIII. Which shows that the Earth was given to the Sons of Men

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Raiker, Alice. 1907. The Tootle Bird and the Brontos. illustrated by Lawson Wood. 12 full page illustrations, 6 in color. Buffalo, NY. Berger Publishing.
Humorous "epic" poem about a prehistoric cave family.

Click here for samples.

Ratnett, Mike and June Goulding. 1989. Togg and Leftover. 32 pp. 22.5 x 22 cm, London. William Collins Sons & Co., Ltd. ISBN: 0006640052 (000191135x). (Harper Collins, NY 1993)
_____. 1993. Togg and Leftover in Trouble. 30 pp. pbk, Toronto. HarperCollins Canada. ISBN: 0006642969.
Togg is a caveman, Leftover his pet dinosaur...
Ressler, Robert K.. 1984. Cave Girl Clair. combination children's book and video game, for girls ages 7-12. With video disk for the Commodore 64 Computer in a back cover pocket. Reading, Massachusetts. Addison - Wesley Publishing Company. distributed by Rhiannon Software. ISBN: 0-201-12613-3.
Resourceful and hardy, Clair must meet the challenges of the New Stone Age. When her people migrate to their summer cave, Clair and her pet rabbit are mistakenly left far behind. But she is a spunky girl and knows they will return one day. She needs help from you. Can Clair survive until her people return?
Rhys, Leona Benkt. 2000. Primal Skin. 256 pp. pbk, Virgin Publishing; Black Lace Erotica. ISBN: 0352335009.*
Skin is a beautiful apprentice female shaman and sleuth seeking to solve a prehistoric murder. She is also a bisexual Neanderthal hybrid who is searching for answers in a world of glaciers, sabre-toothed tigers and magic ritual. Set in the mysterious northern and central Europe of the last Ice Age, Primal Skin is the story of a quest for the spiritual and sexual enlightenment at the beginnings of human history.
more...
Ribeiro, Stella Carr. 1987 (1975). Sambaqui: A Novel of Pre-History. translated from the Portuguese O Homen Do Sambaqui: Una Estoria Na Pre-Historia by Claudia Van der Heuvel. 132 pp. Avon/Bard. ISBN: 0-380-89624-9. (original edition: Edicoes Quiron)*
THE MYSTERY OF THE SHELL PEOPLE
The women of the Sambaqui, the Shell People, are delicate and lovely. The men, rigid in belief and unyielding. Their culture is cannibalistic, exotic and macabre. Here the intelligent, handsome Karincai chooses the beautiful Malaí for his bride-and dares the gods with his rebellion.
As history moves his people toward undreamed-of horror, Karincai alone may make the life-and-death difference for his tribe. But for Malaí, the future holds a different destiny... her world terribly and irrevocably changed as the Shell People face a final confrontation for survival.
A moving, chilling account of genocide that touches the heart of humanity's darker instincts, Sambaqui is real – a society that vanished but never died, its heritage and tragedy our own.
Richardson, Faith. 2003. The Peacock's Stone. 196 pp. Fox Song Books. ISBN: 0974498904.
The Peacock's Stone is a mythic fantasy-adventure set on ancient Earth. Shahumin, a precocious eleven-summer child is invited into her grandfather's fire circle of wisdom where she learns the old stories that have shaped the culture and beliefs of her people. Encountering a strange, pale youth along the river bank, Shahumin unwittingly steps into a new story, a story of power that challenges the wisdom of her people and threatens to shatter her world.
Rienow, Leona Train. 1948. The Bewitched Caverns. illustrated by Allen Pope. 151 pp. 21 cm, New York. Charles Scribners Sons. (and: Junior Literary Guild)*
Pigeon and Olo, Cro-Magnon children, do not tell the adults what they have found deep in the cave: warm ashes and a strangely shaped flint point, evidence of the half-human creatures...
Robbins, Judith Redman. 1996. Coyote Woman. (Pueblo Indians). 415 pp. 18 cm, 1st edition, New York. Onyx. ISBN: 0451406834 (pbk.).*
She was a girl becoming a woman in the Anazasi tribe in the prehistoric Southwest. Though custom decreed she should marry, she was marked for a different fate by the secret of her birth and the magic of her powers. Her name was Shawanadese, but she was given the sacred name of Coyote Woman as she was initiated into the innermost mysteries of the spirit and the ultimate ecstacies of the flesh by the high priest, who saw her as a holy vessel but could not resist her shining beauty. Drawn to her, too, was the handsome young warrior who would have been the perfect match for any ordinary woman; and the godlike Mayan prince who tempted her with power none of her tribe had ever known; and the lustful renegade who could bring doom upon the Anasazi.
In this world of desire and decision, Shawanadese had to see all and dare all in an epic struggle of survival against the evil of men and the harshness of nature in the great canyon called Chaco.
_____. 1998. Sun Priestess. 416 pp. pbk, New York. Onyx Books. ISBN: 0451407873.*
They called her Coyote Woman, child of mystery, woman of vision. Blessed with breathtaking beauty and an ancient gift of prophecy, she was ordained by fate to be emissary of the Anasazi tribe. Journeying across a stark, forbidding land, she entered a world of sacrifice and savagery — only to succumb to the seductive powers of a majestic Mayan-Toltec Eagle warrior.
But the path of her true destiny would lead Coyote Woman back home — and to her sacred calling as the Sun Priestess, healer, dream-weaver, and spirit-guide to her people. Yet in a time when fire rained from the sky, the Anasazi faced a perilous future... as two proud and powerful men, warrior and priest, battled for the heart of one remarkable woman.
_____. 2000. Moon Fire. (Pueblo Indians). 384 pp. 18 cm, 1st edition, New York. Signet. ISBN: 0451201922 (pbk.).
Moon Fire is a vibrant, tapestried tale of love and betrayal and heroism among the Ancient ones of Chaco Canyon. Its prose is delicate, spare and stately, conveying both passion and restraint in a wealth of cultural detail.
Moon Fire is a gifted student of the Sun Priests who develops her special ability to communicate with animals to help her people. Moon Fire threads a precarious existence in the time of the Great Drought when the peoples of Chaco Canyon gradually left their stone dwellings to seek better sustenance (presumably). Moon Fire's family suffers hunger, thirst and fear of betrayal and falseness on many levels. The bravery of Moon Fire, her brothers, and her lover and life mate, the Sun Priest flutist WenaAhote, are fully challenged and displayed. In this tale of multiple counter-betrayals contrasted with the steady vision of truth, the culture of the ancient Anasazi comes again to life.
A reverent, disciplined tone pervades and reanimates this tale of ancient mystery.
--Nancy Lorraine

Roberts, Charles George Douglas, Sir [1860-1943]

Canadian naturalist, writer and poet, the 'Longfellow of Canada' born at Douglas, New Brunswick, graduated at Fredericton in 1879, was professor in King's College, Nova Scotia, in 1885-95, and then settled in New York as an editor, joining the Canadian army at the outbreak of the first World War. He wrote Orion, In Divers Tones, and other verse, a history of Canada, Canada in Flanders (1918), and nature studies, in which he particularly excelled, including The Feet of the Furtive (1912) and Eyes of the Wilderness (1933). He was knighted in 1935.

[Chambers Biographical Dictionary, 1967]

Theodore Goodridge Roberts [1877-1953], (The Red Feathers, below) was his brother.

Roberts, Charles George Douglas, Sir [1860-1943]. 1919. In the Morning of Time. London. Hutchinson & Co. (London Magazine, May-Aug 1912; Cosmopolitan 1914-15; McClelland & Stewart, 311 pp, Toronto 1922; Frederick A. Stokes, 1922; J.M. Dent & Sons, London/Toronto, 1923: 320 pp, 6 illus.) ´*

McClelland 1922

Dent, 1923
 The odyssey of the stone-age People of the Little Hills, led by Bawr, their chief, and his explorer/inventor lieutenant, Grôm, and his brave and beautiful mate, A-ya. Grôm's discovery of volcanic fire leads them to a safer home, temporarily out of reach of the the terrible Bow-leg hordes, where they become The Children of the Shining One. But finally the Bow-legs come, and a fierce war results in the defeat of the Bow-legs, but also A-ya's capture. Aya is rescued, and lives to invent the bow, but the journey of the clan is far from over, and the dangers they must still face are many and great...
Roberts, David. 1972. The Spear Thrower; A Story of Early Man. illustrated by Leslie Caswell. (models by Brian Edwards). 38 pp. Chicago. Rand McNally & Co. ISBN: 0528-82676-X. (originally published in England by Wm. Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1972) ´*
The story of "Tule, a boy when earth was already old and man was young," and how he is seized, fights, hunts dinosaurs, etc. Then the book focuses on making origami models, with paper and instructions to make six colorful origami dinosaurs: Tylosaurus, Archelon, Pteranadon, Triceratops, Stegosaurus, and Corythosaurus.

Roberts, Morley [1857-1942]

English writer, born in London, was educated at Bedford and Owens College, served before the mast, on Australian sheep-runs, on Texan ranches, on Californian railways, and British Columbian sawmills, and multiplied his experiences in the South Seas, the Transvaal, Rhodesia and Corsica. From 1887 onwards he published a long series of works, mostly novels, including The Purification of Dolores Silva (1894), The Colossus, A Son of Empire, Immortal Youth, Lady Penelope (1904) and Sea Dogs.

[Chambers Biographical Dictionary, 1967]
Roberts, Morley [1857-1942]. 1897. The Arrow-Maker. in: Strong Men and True. 228 pp. London. Downey & Co.´
Roberts, Theodore Goodridge [1877-1953]. 1907 (1983). The Red Feathers: A Story of Remarkable Adventures when the World was Young. introduction by Martin Ware, Dalhousie University (McClellan edition). illustrated by Charles Livingston Bull. 325 pp. Boston. L.C. Page. (1908, 1913, 1915, 1919... 1976, 1980, 1983 pbk, McClellan & Stewart Ltd., Canada. ISBN: 0-7710-9227-X. New Canadian Library N 127. (no illustrations)) ´*

LC Page 1919 (5th)

NCL 1983
 A spellbinding story sprung from Indian myths, told with irrepressible zest and lasting freshness.
Every literature possesses its share of overlooked treasures, works of inherent charm and special merit that are inexplicably passed over in the course of years or decades. Such a book is T.G. Roberts' The Red Feathers, a romance of an entirely original kind, set in the Canadian Maritimes and drawing on elements in the patterns of Canadian Indian myths. Now this unique and invigorating flight into fantasy, with its depth of characterization and large dramatic scope, is at last rescued from undeserved obscurity. more... and read Ice Runner, a 1922 Roberts story from Boys' Life.
Robinson, Charles Henry [1843-1925]. 1913. Longhead: the story of the first fire. illustrated by Charles Livingston Bull. front., plates. 4 l., 127 pp. 19 cm, Boston. L.C. Page & Company.´*
Episodic novel of a caveman and his mate moving from the use of fire to the first attempts at social organization, art, and religion.
Robinson, Phil(ip Stewart) [1847-1902]. 1881. The Hunting of the Soko. in: Under the Punkah. 255 pp. London. Sampson, Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington.´
Rolt-Wheeler, Francis W(illiam) [1876-1960]. 1927. The Finder of Fire. Frontis painting by William F. Soare. 272 pp. 19.3 cm, New York, London. D. Appleton & Co. (LOC PZ7.R66Fi).´*
This story for young people relates the adventures of Schlee, a cave boy at the time of the Ice Age, thousands of years ago. Schlee is a member of the Neanderthal race, who do not know what fire is. Banished from his home for disobedience, he wanders far from his own people through a wild country frequented by the Cave Bear, the Fierce Hyena and the Woolly Mammoth, After many days of travel we see him captured by the Cro-Magnon tribe. It is now that Schlee learns from his captors of the existence of fire and that he determines to steal some and carry it back as a gift to his people... more...
_____. 1928. The Tamer of Herds. Cover (and b/w version as frontispiece) by William F. Soare. 241 pp. 19.3 cm, New York, London. D. Appleton & Co. (LOC PZ7.R66Ta) (Burgandy cover shows "Appleton Century" on spine).´*
This is the story of Ur-toum, a courageous lad who lived in ancient Chaldea some 8,ooo years ago.
As keeper of dogs for his tribe, Ur-toum soon learns the great power of Dog-magic, the tremendous secret of the use of wild dogs in the chase. He rescues a wounded dog from his savage mates and tames him by his magic — something that has never been done before — and engages with the dog, Arr-Arr, in many strange adventures. more...

J.-H. Rosny Aîné [1856-1940]

The father of the prehistoric novel

J.-H. Rosny is the joint pseudonym of the Belgian brothers Joseph-Henri-Honoré Boëx [1856-1940], and Séraphin-Justin-François Boëx [1859-1948], known respectively as J.-H. Rosny aîné, and J.-H. Rosny jeune, who wrote in collaboration until 1909. J.-H. Rosny Aîné was clearly the major writer: after their split, the younger brother produced little of note.
Their first prehistoric novel, Vamireh, roman des temps primitifs [Vamireh, a Novel of Primitive Times] (1892), is actually the first of a cycle of five. Eyrimah appeared in 1895, and Rosny's most famous work, La guerre du feu, roman des âges farouches [Quest for Fire] in 1909. Le Félin Géant [The Giant Cat; Quest for the Dawn Man] was published in 1920, and finally, Helgvor du fleuve Bleu in 1930.
Jean-Jacques Annaud's highly acclaimed film, La guerre du feu, "Quest for Fire," appeared in 1981. (The earliest US publication under that title was in 1967, but presumably there was an earlier UK one.) Le Félin Géant (The Giant Cat) was translated (by Lady Whitehead) as "Quest of the Dawn Man" in 1924 (UK), and the introduction states that it ran to 40 editions in France.
Here is my translation of part of the jacket blurb by Jean-Baptiste Baronian to his (1985) edition, Romans Prehistoriques: J.-H. Rosny Aîné:
Author of an extremely vast body of works, member of the Académie Goncourt since its foundation, and its president for numerous years, J.-H. Rosny Aîné is incontestably the father of two modern literary genres: Science Fiction and the Prehistoric Novel. But while science fiction has developed widely in the 20th century, the prehistoric novel has attracted less attention, and in this area there is no author to be found to rival J.-H. Rosny Aîné.
Predating his novel Vamireh by five years is the short story Les Xipéhuz (1887), a combination of prehistory, adventure and science fiction. A similar combination is found in the stories La Grande Énigme (1920) and Les Homees sangliers (1929). Two other "pure" prehistoric short stories are Elem d'Asie (1896) (actually a shortened version of Valmireh), and Nomaï (1897).

c.f. J.H.Rosny at Le Roman d'Aventures
& Rosny-aîné
(French)
Rosny, J.-H. [1856-1940]. (1887) 1968. The Shapes. translated from the French Les Xipéhuz by Damon Knight. in: Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Vol. 34, N° 3, Whole N° 202, March, 1968, pp 91-112. (and in Damon Knight, ed. One Hundred Years of Science Fiction, 1968) ´*
"This is a fascinating story on several counts. Its theme is a durable one: aliens threaten mankind; scientist analyzes aliens; soldiers battle aliens. The difference here is that this is a 19th century writer's account of a battle that takes place a thousand years before the beginning of ancient civilization. With all that, it is more than a curiosity; it is a compelling and exciting story..."
_____. (1887) 1978. The Xipehuz and The Death of the Earth. translated from the French Les Xipéhuz by George Edgar Slusser. (The Xipehuz 1-50, Death of the Earth 51-183). xii, 183 pp. 24 cm, New York. Arno Press, A New York Times Company. ISBN: 0-405-11020-0.´*
_____. (1909) 1967. The Quest for Fire: a novel of prehistoric times. translated from the French La Guerre du feu by Harold Talbott. illustrated by J.O. Bercher. 194 pp. 21.7 cm, 1st English edition, New York. Pantheon Books. ISBN: 034530067X. (see: Éric Lysøe's The War for Fire: An epic vision of evolution) ´*
Most of the tribe are dead or dying after the battle. But worse, they have been robbed of their most sacred possession -- fire! So three young warriors must brave a world of untamed savagery during their search for survival itself.
more...
_____. (1910) 1978. The Death of the Earth. translated from the French La Mort de la terre. pbk. Ace.
_____. (1920) 1997. The Great Mystery. translated from the French La grande énigme by Stephen Trussel. short story.*
_____. (1920) 1924. The Giant Cat; or, The Quest of Aoun & Zouhr. translated from the French Le Félin géant by The Honorable Lady Whitehead. 242 pp. 19.5 cm, (printed by H. Mathon - Wiesbaden, Germany), New York. Robert M. McBride & Company. (1964: Ace pbk, as: Quest of the Dawn Man) ´*

Harry J. Shaare
 Aoun, son of Urus, was tall and strong and delighted in the hunt. His courage was legion and his strength formidable, but he had a strange weakness that the other Oulhamr tribesmen did not understand — he could feel pity. His companion was Zouhr, last of the Men-without-Shoulders, whose subtle, dreamy intelligence was also unique among men. They set out, these two, to discover new and fertile hunting grounds for the horde, in the unknown land beyond the mountains. more...
_____. (1930) 1932. Helgvor of the Blue River. translated from the French Helgvor du Fleuve bleu: roman des ages farouches by Georges Surdez. in: Argosy magazine, Vol. 230, No. 1-4, May 28, June 4, 11, 18, 1932. Canada. The Frank A. Munsey Company.*

May 28

June 4

June 11

June 18
 Apparently the only publication of the English translation is this Argosy serialized version: full text.

Patricia (and Dan) Rowe's homepage: The Ramblin' Rowes
Rowe, Patricia. 1994. Keepers of the Misty Time. 373 pp. 18 cm, New York. Warner Books. ISBN: 0446364355 (pbk.).*
Nine thousand years ago the People of the Misty Time lived along the Pacific Northwest's mighty Columbia River. The cascading river roared between canyon walls, and there, on the edge of lush grasslands, a determined band of people called the Shahala prepared for their new spiritual leader, Moonkeeper, a power so great that her image was carved in the great stone cliffs... and remains there to this day. But the young woman called Ashan knew her people faced vast changes. Soon, challenging the old ways and led by troubling visions, she and a brave hunter named Tor would travel pathways the Shahala never trod... from the Misty Time to the bright beginning when humanity's true future would be born. From their dreams, civilization began...
_____. 1996. Children of the Dawn. 376 pp. 18 cm, New York. Warner Books. ISBN: 0446602051 (pbk.).*
Pacific Northwest, 7000 BC. As Moonkeeper, Ashen must guide her people, the Shahala, to a new home that only her mate, Tor, has seen. Both Ashen and Tor have had visions of their tribe's new home, and of the other tribe that lives there. The spirits tell Ashen to take her people there and make their tribes one.
It is a difficult journey across the plains to the great river. A strange accident sends Ashen on a spirit journey and perhaps to her final death. When the Shahala meet the Tlikit for the first time, Ashen can do nothing to help her people; no one even knows if she will recover.
The Tlikit do not want the strange new people in their homeland; the people of the man, Tor, who once lived among them. Only Tsilka, who wants Tor more than she should, can help her tribe accept the newcomers--or she can make known her secret that would destroy the kinship bonds of the Shahala.(Kimberly Borrowdale, 9/28/96)
Rowland, Florence Wightman [1900-1997]. 1959. Eo of the Caves. illustrated by Bernard Krigstein. 160 pp. 21 cm, New York. H.Z Walck.*

 
 

Krigstein
cover sketch
 Eo's parents don't return to the cave, the fire goes out and caves bears return... He finds a fatherless family, and Ur, a boy his own age, and together they grow into manhood, sharing adventures and discoveries as Eo achieves a place in his new family.

Krigstein illustrations

Rutherfurd, Edward. 1987. Sarum; the Novel of England. maps, geneal. table. viii,897 pp. 25 cm, 1st US edition, New York. Crown. ISBN: 0804102988 (051756338X). (Melbourne: Century Hutchinson, 1987. 1st Aust. 897pp)*
Traces the history of England from the Ice Age to the present through five fictional families. First part is recommended. (Cohen-Williams) Rutherfurd creates a masterpiece of breathtaking scope--a brilliantly conceived and written epic novel that traces the entire turbulent course of English history. From primitive beginnings to the present, this is a magnificent story that until now has never been told. (Amazon)

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