You and your son Eneko have escaped a massacre at the hands of Cro-Magnon mammoth hunters and are running through the forest with your lover Esti and her friend Oihana. Both are Cro-Magnons. You are running for your lives, but where are you going? You need a plan.
Each of you carries whatever supplies you could hurriedly grab. There is only enough food for a day or two. You will hunt and forage on the trail. Eneko carries a doll made of grass and twine. He calls the doll Pala. You remember how much the watchdog Xuxa used to love chewing on Pala, causing Eneko so much distress! You wonder, "Has Xuxa survived the massacre?" You smile inwardly, bitterly. It looks like rain.
[[Rolling thunder is getting closer.]]
[[Eneko drops the doll.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/beats-begin.mp3" autoplay>The toddler Alasne was hiding in the deep recesses of the cave while her people were being murdered by the Cro-Magnon hunters. She is with the Neanderthal's watchdog, Xuxa, a large and fearless protector. Alasne had fallen asleep during the storm.
Xuxa smells blood. In the morning, Xuxa goes to the front gallery of the cave. Charred bones are in the hearth. Blood and guts are strewn about. Xuxa whines and growls almost breaking into a howl. She goes back to Alasne and sits by her side.
Alasne awakens and crawls towards the cave entrance. She stares into the dying embers of a large pit fire. Flesh, entrails and bones are all around the pit. Alasne is confused and frightened. Xuxa is by her side.
[[Alasne and Xuxa go into the forest.]]
[[Uda returns to the Neanderthal camp.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Alasne-Xuxa-awaken.mp3" autoplay>You take shelter in a limestone outcropping at the edge of a clearing. Everyone is soaked through. The storm rages into the night. You will continue your journey in the morning.
You make a fire and use rainwater to soak and steep some mushrooms until they produce a dark brown tea. You save the tea in a small bladder. Eneko has the sniffles and Esti is preparing an herbal brew. Eneko sulks. He has dropped Pala somewhere in the forest.
Oihana makes new tools from river cobbles. He thinks about the woodland animals he spotted along the way and plans an early morning hunt.
When the sky clears, you will head to Bruniquel, to the Cave of the Brown Bear, and ask the ancestors for guidance. You must call out to your cousins and tell them to leave this valley. They are no longer safe here.
[[Haizea and Esti forage.]]
[[Oihana goes hunting.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/fire-1.mp3" autoplay>Oihana carries Eneko in a soft leather sling on his back. Eneko is never a burden. Eneko falls asleep in the safety of Oihana's sling. He drops the doll, Pala, along the way.
The forest canopy protects the band of refugees from the rain. They leave a trail of wet prints in the mud, most of which are washed away by morning. Dawn approaches. The rain stops.
[[Your group is being followed.]]
[[Alasne and Xuxa awaken.]]
<!--<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Eneko-drops-the-doll.mp3" autoplay>-->You and Esti have become closer. She stays with you all the time. She has a great fondness for Eneko, too. You feel the heavy weight of responsibility for everyone's safety.
Taking stock of events, you, Esti, Eneko and Oihana have narrowly escaped a massacre. You take Esti's hand. She squeezes your hand firmly. You run your hand through her hair and rest it on her shoulder. You pull her close and make a silent vow of love.
[[Eneko is hungry.]]
[[Your group is being followed.]]
[[Xuxa follows her nose.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/HaizeatakesEstishand.mp3" autoplay>You are being followed. The scent is familiar and is Neander! Another survivor? An additional scent - a wolf? a dog? Then you hear it -- a child is crying somewhere in the forest. So it wasn't all in your mind afterall!
Torrential rains, thunder, lightning. Poor conditions for finding someone lost in the woods. What if it's a trap? Eneko has dropped his doll somewhere along the trail. If an enemy is searching for you, they will surely find the doll.
[[Alasne calls out.]]
[[The mammoth hunters return to their camp.]]
[[The sun is low on the horizon.]]
<!--<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Your-group-is-being-followed.mp3" autoplay>-->It's nearly dawn when Alasne and Xuxa leave the cave and head out into the forest. The rain has stopped. They drink fresh rainwater from clear puddles. They come to a stream.
Xuxa runs ahead to check the trail and then runs back again, making sure that Alasne is still with her. They travel alongside the stream. Alasne wants her mother, ArgiƱe.
[[You find shelter.]]
[[Alasne calls out.]]
[[Xuxa follows her nose.]]
<!--<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/AlasneXuxagointoforest.mp3" autoplay>-->Uda, a Cro-Magnon artist, is badly wounded in the fight between the Magnons and Neanderthals. He did not participate, but was a passive observer until he was struck on the head with a hand ax. He has been wandering through the forest in a daze. Uda struggles now to make his way back to the wrecked Neander camp to find his son, Eneko. He has a bleeding head wound. He sways on his feet, then rests against a tree for just a minute.
When he gets to the Neander camp, Uda sees the aftermath of the massacre - bones, flesh, guts and blood everywhere. No one left alive. Where did Haizea go? Where is his son, Eneko? His mind is blurry. He must find Eneko. The Elder, Aito, will be very angry!
[[The mammoth hunters return to their camp.]]
[[Eneko drops the doll.]]
[[Alasne and Xuxa go into the forest.]]
<!--(button:)[[Cast of characters]]-->
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/UdaReturnsToNeanderthalCamp.mp3" autoplay>''MAIN CHARACTERS''
Haizea (Wind) - Neanderthal woman, leader, main character of the story; //You, the reader are Haizea//
Esti (Sweet Honey)- Cro-Magnon/Aurignacian woman, Haizea's lover & companion, a healer
Eneko (Mine) - Young boy, son of Haizea and Uda - with Neanderthal mother and Cro-Magnon father
Uda (Summer) - Cro-Magnon shaman, Eneko's father, Haizea's ex-lover
Oihana (Forest) - Cro-Magnon man, friend to Esti and Haizea; partners with men
Alasne (Miracle) - Young Neanderthal girl, survivor of a massacre
Xuxa (Lily) - Wolf-dog, watchdog of the Neanderthal camp
Gentza (Peace) - Differently-abled Neanderthal man, Oihana's lover and companion
''IMPORTANT SECONDARY CHARACTERS''
Aito (Good Father) - Cro-Magnon Elder, storyteller, wise one
Aritz (Oak Tree) - Haizea's cousin, Neanderthal healer
Ortzi (Sky) - Adolescent Neanderthal, son of Aritz
Paio (Rock) - Leader of the Cro-Magnons, Esti's father
Ion (John) - Cro-Magnon mammoth hunter, murderer
''SHAMANS''
Bihotz (Heart) - Homo heidelbergensis shaman, an ancient one
Chesa (Home) - Shaman of the Eastern Cousins, part-Neanderthal
''DENISOVANS''
Aroa (Era, Time) - Denisovan leader, companion of Izar
Izar (Star) - Denisovan leader, companion of Aroa
Naia (Wave) - Daughter of Aroa and Izar
Ibai (River) - Denisovan boat-builder
''OTHER CHARACTERS MENTIONED IN THIS STORY''
Gorka (Farmer) - Leader of the Neanders, Haizea's father
ArgiƱe (Light) - Neander woman murdered by Cro-Magnons, Alasne's mother
''CHOOSE A PATH USING THE LINKS BELOW - USE BACK & FORWARD ARROWS TO NAVIGATE''
[[Haizea leads Eneko, Esti and Oihana through the forest.]]
[[Alasne and Xuxa awaken.]]
[[Uda returns to the Neanderthal camp.]]Alasne, the toddler who hid at the back of the Neander cave during the massacre, is wandering through the forest with the wolf-dog Xuxa. Xuxa leads Alasne through the forest knowing that Alasne's life depends on her. They are hungry. At least they have spring water.
The afternoon sun is low on the horizon. Alasne looks for grubs and insects - the storm has brought them out. Xuxa finds a rabbit and kills it. They eat and then continue on their way.
[[Haizea and Esti forage.]]
[[Xuxa finds Pala.]]
[[Eneko is hungry.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Xuxafollowsnose.mp3" autoplay>Alasne is afraid and is crying. She calls out for her mother - Amaa! Amaa! AAMAA!! But her mother ArgiƱe was murdered by the mammoth hunters.
Xuxa picks up a scent.
[[You find shelter.]]
[[Uda regains consciousness.]]
[[Xuxa finds Pala.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Alasnecallsout.mp3" autoplay>Uda slowly opens his eyes. He hears a child crying. Where is Eneko? Is Haizea still alive? Uda must find them. His head hurts.
He stands up. He drops his ax and stoops to pick it up again. Everything looks blurry. He falls unconscious again, ax in hand.
[[Uda has a dream.]]
Uda awakens abruptly. He sits against a tree. Looking down at the ground, he sees tracks - a child and a large dog. He must ask Aito's advice. Aito will know what to do.
[[Uda travels back to the Cro-Magnon camp.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Udaregainsconsciousness.mp3" autoplay>It's a new day. The rain has stopped. Eneko is awake and hungry. You and Esti leave your tunics to dry by the fire and walk into the forest. Eneko tags along and Esti teaches him about herbs and roots. He has a natural skill and has found a patch of sorrel.
Carrying a woven grass basket, you venture deeper into the woods and find chickory, asparagus, garlic, blackberries, nettles and burdock. Chamomile, mint and bilberry grow in patches nearby. Mushrooms have sprouted overnight. There are grubs, crickets and grasshoppers.
You see a partridge and with one toss of your bola you kill it cleanly. There must be a nest somewhere nearby, with eggs.
[[Oihana goes hunting.]]
[[Haizea takes Esti's hand in hers.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/HaizeaEstiforage.mp3" autoplay>Oihana wakes early the next day and starts a fire. His tunic is still wet from the storm. He places it by the fire to dry, slings his tool bag across his shoulder and leaves the shelter to find breakfast for the small band of refugees.
You wake up as the fire gets going. The warmth of the dancing flames brings back wistful memories of peaceful days and loving friends. Those days are behind you now.
A child is crying - or is that your imagination? You're stressed. You must be hearing things.
[[Haizea takes Esti's hand in hers.]]
[[Your group is being followed.]]
[[Uda returns to the Neanderthal camp.]]
<!--<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Oihanagoeshunting
.mp3" autoplay>-->Xuxa leads Alasne along a trail. She picks up a familiar scent. Eneko's doll, Pala, is in the mud beside the trail. Xuxa pounces and grabs it in her teeth. She runs ahead. There is someone else in the forest. A deer perhaps.
Xuxa runs into the woods ahead of Alasne. Alasne cannot see Xuxa. Where has she gone? Tears well up.
[[Xuxa finds Oihana.]]
[[Eneko is hungry.]]
<!--<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/XuxafindsPala.mp3" autoplay>-->The murderous mammoth hunters leave a bloody trail from the Neanderthal massacre site as they make their way back to camp. They have been drinking heavily.
On hearing about the massacre, the Cro Magnon leader Paio is angry beyond words. Paio has their weapons taken away and orders them to sit down and shut up.
Those who did not take part in the massacre of the Neanders have been skinning, cleaning and curing the mammoth killed in the hunt. They stare in silence at the mammoth hunters and then go back to their tasks.
The Elder Aito builds a fire. People gather 'round to hear a story. The mammoth hunters do not want to hear stories right now. They laugh at Aito. Disrespect. They sit down, drunk and tired. Paio tells them "Be quiet!"
[[Aito tells a story.]]
[[Alasne and Xuxa go into the forest.]]
<!--<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/mammothhuntersreturn.mp3" autoplay>-->Uda travels back to the Cro-Magnon camp from the scene of the massacre. The leader Paio and the elder Aito are in conference by a small fire. Aito signals for Uda to sit by the fire.
Aito applies a poultice of goldenseal, carrot and lobelia to Uda's head wound. Uda is grateful but he is restless. He is angry, too, at the mammoth hunters who have also returned to camp and are still drinking.
[[Aito tells a story.]]
[[Paio banishes the mammoth hunters.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Udatravelsbacktocamp.mp3" autoplay>People gather around the fire as Aito nudges it with a stick, sending sparks into the air. Aito clears his throat and begins: "In a great rich land many ages ago, the people had fur all over their bodies, from head to toe, and they lived in trees." Nervous laughter - where is this story going?
"Eventually, they came down from the trees and began walking about. They walked from the original homeland to this place, to where we are now. They became the Neanderthals." Someone gasps, surprised.
"We ouselves came up from the same people. But we came up a little differently and became Cro-Magnons. Still, we have many of the same ancestors, all of whom have brought us here together."
The adults shift in their seats. Someone coughs. The mood is somber. Aito says, "The Neanderthals lived at a place called Shanidar. The shaman Bihotz was with them at Shanidar. And Cro-Magnons were with them at Shanidar, too. We are kindred."
The children listen and then repeat the story to each other.
Aito says, "Bihotz is older than everyone and is one of the original people. Bihotz says spirits are alive at Shanidar. Shanidar is alive. Bihotz is at Shanidar now."
The mammoth hunters hear Aito's story and are quiet, and stupid. The leader Paio glares at them. Aito gazes directly at Uda. Uda feels a sudden chill going up his spine. Uda thinks,//Haizea has gone to Shanidar.// He thinks he, Uda, should go there, too. It is late, the fire burns down to embers and the people fall asleep.
[[Uda has a dream.]]
[[Xuxa finds Pala.]]
[[Paio banishes the mammoth hunters.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Aitotellsastory.mp3" autoplay>Uda must find Haizea and their son Eneko. He knows it will take many months to get to Shanidar but he cannot see beyond today. He packs too lightly for the journey. His head hurts. His thoughts are still a little foggy.
Uda leaves Paio's camp and goes into the forest. He passes the mammoth hunters who have built a fire near the camp. They are on their own. They remain silent as Uda passes them. Distant thunder threatens.
Uda heads south. He hears a child crying.
[[Everyone is together again.]]
[[Go back to the beginning->Eurasia, 40,000 years ago.]]
[[Go to Act II->Act II: To the Cave of the Brown Bear]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/UdaleavesforShanidar.mp3" autoplay>Uda dreams of the Cave of the Brown Bear. He knows this place - he's been here before in dreams. He sees a group of people in the Cave ...Neanders! They turn to look at him. He cannot hide. They are in a circle made of stalagmites.
The old shaman Bihotz appears in the center of the circle. They hold out a wooden spear. Bihotz says, "We were waiting for you. Welcome!" Xuxa is there, too. Xuxa glares at the shaman and bares her teeth. Bihotz laughs. Uda wakes up, his heart racing. He must go to the Cave of the Brown Bear!
[[Uda asks forgiveness.]]
[[Oihana follows Xuxa.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Udahasadream.mp3" autoplay>Uda wakes up in a cold sweat. He is in shock and mourning for the people who were killed. He is responsible for Gorka's death. He shakes his head. Was Gorka his kin, as Aito says? Uda has dreamed about Bihotz.
Uda's head is throbbing. He walks up to Aito and bends low in front of him, asking forgiveness. Aito tells him to go find Haizea.
[[The sun is low on the horizon.]]
[[Oihana follows Xuxa.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Udaasksforgiveness.mp3" autoplay>Xuxa, the Neander watchdog, and Alasne, the young girl who hid in the back of the cave while Cro-Magnon hunters murdered her people, are walking through the forest. They find shelter in a rocky crevice hidden by a thorny blackberry patch. Alasne eats blackberries and shares what remains of the rabbit with Xuxa.
They drink from the stream and continue walking. Xuxa keeps her nose to the ground. Alasne starts crying. She wants to go back to the safe space in the rocks with the blackberries. Xuxa runs ahead. She follows the scent of a small group of people. Alasne follows Xuxa and stifles her tears. It's hard to walk and cry at the same time. Soon it will be nighttime.
[[Xuxa finds Oihana.]]
[[Uda regains consciousness.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Thesunislow.mp3" autoplay>
Oihana is hunting in the forest. He stops suddenly. A large dog is running towards him. Is it Xuxa? She's carrying something in her mouth.
Xuxa puts Eneko's doll down in front of Oihana and runs back into the woods. She halts once and looks back at him, a signal that he must follow her. Oihana picks up the doll, grabs his spear, and runs after Xuxa.
[[Oihana follows Xuxa.]]
[[Uda travels back to the Cro-Magnon camp.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/XuxafindsOihana.mp3" autoplay>
Xuxa leads Oihana to Alasne, who is huddled in the space between two large rocks. Oihana realizes that she is ArgiƱe's child. This is a miracle! But Alasne is afraid of Oihana. He is a Magnon. Magnons kill people. She pulls away from him, making herself as small as possible, crying for her mother. Xuxa runs to Alasne and licks her face.
Oihana approaches her very slowly. He offers her some dried meat. He asks softly, "Are you hungry?" Alasne looks up, grabs the meat from his hands, and eats it quickly. She pulls back again, but not so far this time. Oihana extends a hand and she takes it and crawls out from her hiding place.
Oihana carries Alasne. They go back to the camp at the limestone outcropping. Alasne clutches the doll, Pala. Xuxa has done her job.
[[Everyone is together again.]]
[[Uda leaves for Shanidar.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/OihanafollowsXuxa.mp3" autoplay><!--beginning of Act II-->The sky is barely a shade above indigo when your small band packs up their provisions and begins the trek south. You and Esti lead the way. Oihana carries Alasne in a sling on his back and Eneko is holding his hand. Xuxa walks by their side. It will take one day to reach the Cave of the Brown Bear. You will forage along the way and hunt when you make camp.
As you head south, you'll find the Cave of the Brown Bear just on the other side of a winding river. For over 170,000 years the Cave has been a sacred place to the Neanderthals. Only Neanders know of this place and only Neanders may enter the Cave. Oihana and Esti are Cro-Magnons and have never heard of this place. They will not go into the cave.
[[You reach the Cave.]]
[[Uda walks until sundown.]]
[[The cousins are on the move.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/ActII-toCave.mp3" autoplay>You and Esti were successful in finding food. A partridge and eggs! You will make a good meal for your small group and then you will tell them your plan. Eneko is hungry.
[[The sun is low on the horizon.]]
[[Xuxa finds Pala.]]
<!--<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Enekoishungry.mp3" autoplay>-->Oihana has found Alasne and Xuxa in the forest. He calls out "Haizea!" and you run to meet him. Xuxa jumps up in a greeting and is so happy she seems to be crying, if dogs could cry. You scratch Xuxa behind the ear - her favorite spot. You take Alasne in your arms.
Oihana has killed rabbits and voles. With the partridge and vegetables you gathered today you all have enough for a decent meal with plenty left over for tomorrow. Esti builds a fire. Everyone eats.
What happened at your old camp could happen again. You must warn the cousins at the Camp of the High Stone Arch, and the cousins from the Spotted Horses Cave. They know about the massacre. They must join your group on the trek south.
You tell Esti and Oihana that the first stop is at the Cave of the Brown Bear at Bruniquel. The ancestors will advise. Oihana and Xuxa are on first watch tonight. You and Esti will be on second watch until dawn. The children sleep.
[[Go back to the beginning->Eurasia, 40,000 years ago.]]
[[Go to Act II->Act II: To the Cave of the Brown Bear]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/TBMtheme.mp3" autoplay>Uda forages for the day's food. His head wound makes him weak and foraging is difficult. Aito gave him medicine for his injury but things are still a bit foggy. He //must// find Eneko. He presses onward.
The Elder Aito told him that Shanidar is the original place, a paradise. He must go there now. He will walk today until sundown.
Leaving Paio's camp, Uda passes the mammoth hunters' camp, their hearth a mess of mud, bits of carcass and bones tossed aside. Hyenas will be here soon. Uda goes into the woods.
[[Aito speaks to a lion.]]
[[Uda sees footprints.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/UdaWalks.mp3" autoplay>The next day, your small group reaches the river. You wade across at the narrowest point, carrying Eneko on your shoulders. Oihana has Alasne in a sling on his back. Esti is carrying supplies. The water is cool and the current lively as you step off the riverbank.
The Cave entrance is on the south side of a hill that rises up from the banks of the river. You and Eneko and Alasne climb up to the Cave. The wolf-dog Xuxa is by your side. Esti and Oihana stay near the river. They must find a good spot to set up camp, store provisions, and then go on a hunt.
Esti senses that others are coming through the forest but she doesn't yet see them. She gathers brown coal at the river's edge.
[[Haizea prepares for the ritual.]]
[[Esti and Oihana make camp.]]
[[Aito speaks to a lion.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/YouReachCave.mp3" autoplay>Oihana and Esti go on a hunt. They are looking for a young deer that will provide enough meat to last many days, but not so much that the weight becomes a burden. Still, perhaps more is better.
The deer appears. Oihana has his spear ready. Esti moves silently around the deer, stalking it from the opposite side. Together they strike, one from each side, and the deer is down before it has a chance to see or hear the humans. Esti and Oihana give thanks.
They drag the deer back to camp and butcher it. Oihana makes a hot fire using brown coals from the river's edge and then places the meat over the fire.
Xuxa raises her nose to the sky. She is hungry and smells the deer meat cooking, but she will not leave the children unguarded.
[[Haizea finds the passageway.]]
[[The cousins are on the move.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/EstiOihanahuntdeer.mp3" autoplay>The Cave appears to be simply a large empty gallery. There are no markings or paintings. In the back of the cave there is a smooth circular dip in the cave floor, the den of the Brown Bear. The bear is gone.
You instruct Eneko and Alasne to stay near the mouth of the Cave. You instruct Xuxa to guard the children. Xuxa looks at you expectantly and wags her tail. The children sit down, flowers in hand, and eventually fall asleep. Xuxa rests on her haunches, alert and waiting.
You walk to the back of the cave. You strike pyrite with flint sending a spark across the moss wick. The lamp is lit. You find the hidden opening to a narrow passageway. You enter the passageway, inching your way through to the sanctuary.
[[Haizea enters the sanctuary.]]
[[Xuxa guards the children.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/HaizeaFindsPassage.mp3" autoplay>Esti and Oihana find a good spot for setting up camp - a small clearing hidden behind a boulder. Esti calls out to Xuxa but realizes that Xuxa is with Haizea and the children. Esti is troubled. If Xuxa, a dog, is permitted to enter the Cave, why has she, Esti, been forbidden? She speaks her mind to Oihana.
Oihana reminds her that they should follow Haizea's lead if they are going to make it to Shanidar alive. He reminds Esti that they can never return to Paio's camp. They are living with Neanders now.
[[Esti and Oihana hunt deer.]]
[[Aritz arrives.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/EstiOihanaMakeCamp.mp3" autoplay>Uda walks from dawn to dusk with just a few moments of rest along the way. He eats dried meats and pine nuts, which Paio had given him for the journey. He has a leather bag of water, which he refreshes in the streams running through the forest. He guides himself by the movements of the sun. His head hurts.
Uda keeps walking south to the river. He smells the river. He comes across the footprints of a large group of people who have recently passed this way. Some of them are children. This is both confusing and encouraging. Children: good. Many people: not so good. Dogs, too.
[[Uda follows a trail.]]
[[The lion trails Uda.]]
[[The cousins are on the move.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Udaseesfootprints.mp3" autoplay>As Uda leaves Paio's Cro-Magnon camp, he encounters the lion in the forest, perched atop a boulder, watching him.
Uda stops. The lion tells Uda that he will find what he is looking for. The lion says to go south. The lion promises to guide and protect him. The lion warns him about others. Uda thinks: what others? Haizea's people? The mammoth hunters? The lion runs off.
[[Haizea prepares for the ritual.]]
[[The lion trails Uda.]]
[[Uda finds a small campsite.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Udaencounters.mp3" autoplay>Esti hears the sound of the Neander conch. The cousins from from the Camp of the High Stone Arch and the Cave of the Spotted Horses are walking through the forest where Esti and Oihana are hunting. Esti and Oihana are afraid. Esti and Oihana have killed no one but because they are Cro-Magnons, they will be blamed for the massacre. They must hurry back to camp.
[[Uda spies a band of Neanders.]]
[[Conch shell signals.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/CousinsontheMove.mp3" autoplay>Uda is looking for his son Eneko. Aito told him to go south to Shanidar. Aito did not say how long it will take.
Uda climbs a tree to see the path ahead. He spies a band of about 20 Neanders, including children, walking the same path. Where did they come from? The mammoth hunters have killed everyone except Haizea and Eneko. These must be Haizea's cousins from the Camp of the High Stone Arch.
Uda has difficulty getting down from the tree. His head is bleeding once again. Someone blows into the conch shell.
[[The cousins press forward.]]
[[Conch shell signals.]]
<!--<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Udaspiesband.mp3" autoplay>-->Uda hears the conch shell and then he hears a reply. The signals are in the distance but are clear. These are Neander signals. Two distinct bands of people are traveling south. The cousins are coming.
[[Aritz arrives.]]
[[The lion trails Uda.]]
[[Haizea finds the passageway.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Conchshellsignals.mp3" autoplay>The cousins from the Camp of the High Stone Arch press forward. There are children with them as well as a few dogs. They sing a mourning song. They are going to Bruniquel, to the Cave of the Brown Bear to ask for advice from the ancestors.
Aritz, the son of Gorka's brother, leads them. The Magnons have killed the Neanders from Gorka & Haizea's camp. Most are dead. Gorka is dead.
Uda sends a prayer to the lion. The lion stays hidden. The cousins do not see Uda. The lion watches them.
Someone catches a scent, but a breeze whisks it away and the group keeps moving.
[[Haizea enters the sanctuary.]]
[[The cousins reach the Cave.]]
[[Uda follows a trail.]]
[[Aritz captures Esti.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Cousinspressforward.mp3" autoplay>The lion walks through the forest, sometimes leading Uda and sometimes following him. The lion picks up the scent of people moving through the forest.
The lion jumps into a tree, resting on a low outstretched branch. Uda knows the lion is telling him to stop, but he keeps going. Someone in the distance blows into a conch shell.
The lion jumps down from the tree and shadows Uda as he continues on. Uda is unsteady on his feet and holds his head in his hands. Aito's medicine is wearing off.
[[Uda follows a trail.]]
[[Esti and Oihana make camp.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/liontrails.mp3" autoplay>The narrow passage opens up, giving way to a large cavern. You hold the lamp high and the room glows. You are facing a circle of stalagmites. Light dances and glistens on the smooth wet columns of stone. You listen to the sounds of the cave. You hear the stalactites above growing downward, drop by drop. You hear the minerals moving very slowly. The minerals are alive.
The ancestors have arranged the large circle of stalagmites around two stone altars. You light a fire atop each of the stalagmites. The arrangement of stones maps out the southern constellations. You drink the mushroom tea. No need for thinking now, only waiting.
[[The ancestors arrive.]]
[[Conch shell signals.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/HaizeaEntersSanctuary.mp3" autoplay>The children are asleep near the mouth of the Cave. Xuxa is awake and alert. She senses that the cousins are on their way. Xuxa knows that Uda is coming, too. Xuxa moves closer to Eneko and whines gently.
[[A vision.]]
[[Oihana leaves the camp.]]
[[Aritz arrives.]] Esti and Oihana have butchered and skinned a deer. They build a small fire and cook the meat. Esti scrapes the hide as the meat cooks. Oihana is nervous. He tells her he is going to look for more coal for the fire.
Instead, Oihana runs to the Cave of the Brown Bear. He tells himself that he can pick up coal on his way back to the camp, but before he does anything, he needs to know the children are safe.
Aritz, Haizea's Neander cousin, follows the scent of the campfire and meat cooking. He knows that Haizea and the children are at the sacred cave. Who, then, is tending this fire?
[[Aritz captures Esti.]]
[[Uda finds Oihana and Esti's campsite.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Oihanaleavescamp.mp3" autoplay>Cousins arrive at the bend in the river across from the Cave of the Brown Bear. They cross the river at a low point and climb the hill to the Cave opening. They wait outside. Xuxa guards Alasne and Eneko, who are asleep just inside the mouth of the cave. Xuxa sits up and wags her tail in recognition.
Haizea's cousin Aritz is a healer. He reaches into his medicine pouch. His son Ortzi digs a hole and prepares a quick fire. The healer makes medicine over the fire. Three women grind red ochre and white limestone to powder. They take charcoal from the fire. They paint their faces and powder their hair.
The medicine is ready. Three women take the medicine. They find the narrow passageway; they light their lamps and crawl into the opening.
[[Three cousins perform a dance ritual.]]
[[Oihana leaves the camp.]]
<!--<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Cousinsreachcave.mp3" autoplay>-->You stand in the center of the stone circle. The medicine is strong. Suddenly you are standing at the edge of a lake. You step onto the water and walk across the lake. Lions, megaceros and bears are drinking from the water on the far shore.
You greet the animals and each one looks up in recognition. With a shake of their head, each returns to drinking from the lake. You join them and drink from the lake. You look into the water and see the reflection of the scene behind you: Neanderthals are walking along the horizon. Others are behind them - earlier people, some with children clinging to the fur on their backs. Some walk on all fours, too. All are coming to the lake. You see people carrying weapons. These are Esti's people. All the people drink from the lake.
The lake, the animals, the people disappear. You stand in the center of a large circle of stalagmites. The top of each is ablaze.
[[A vision.]]
[[The cousins reach the Cave.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/AncestorsArrive.mp3" autoplay>You drink mushroom tea. Perspective shifts and the cavern walls open up like a blooming flower. Sunlight enters the sanctuary and you are standing in a meadow. Eneko and Alasne and Xuxa play in the meadow. You call out and they look up from their games. Xuxa is as big as a bear.
The Bear walks towards you. She stops and stands on her hind legs. She turns her head. You turn your head and see the Cave. You see people walking towards the Cave. The cousins are coming.
Xuxa carries the children in her mouth. She takes them to the passageway and puts them down. Three cousins arrive, painted in red ochre, black charcoal and white limestone. They enter the cave. The children crawl through the passageway to the sanctuary. It is nighttime. The night sky appears above you. The southern cross is on the horizon. The ancestors have given their advice.
[[Esti and Oihana make camp.]]
[[The cousins reach the Cave.]]
[[Uda finds a small campsite.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/AVision
.mp3" autoplay>Three women painted in ochre join you inside the large circle of stalagmites. They dance. Each one leans on her left leg and then shifts to the right, pivoting and leading from the belly. They move in unison, slowly at first, and then faster. Left and right. They bend their knees and pick up their feet, tapping them down with great care. As they move, their arms swing, providing energy and momentum.
Big eyes, big shoulders, broad mouths and big breasts. The women spring into the air. They step as high as a cave bear's shoulder. They step down lightly with knees bent.
You leave the sanctuary. You must find Esti and Oihana. They are in danger.
[[Aritz captures Esti.]]
[[Uda follows a trail.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Threecousinsperform.mp3" autoplay> There are 24 Neanderthals, 3 Cro-Magnons, and 4 wolf-dogs in your group. The people have been fed. Some are standing and others are sitting around the fire. Esti and Oihana sit near you with Eneko and Alasne. Uda wants to help. He wants to be good. The lion guides him. Eneko and Uda exchange hopeful glances.
You stand up. You say that there is no going back. The Magnons have taken over the painted caves and the routes of the migrating herds. There are many more of them than anyone has seen before.
Everyone shifts and murmurs. You say, "We must travel south to Shanidar. The valley at Shanidar sits between two rivers. There are deer and goats and sheep, tortoises and boar; fruit trees, olives, vines, lentils and grains. There are many caves. And the fishing is good."
You tell them to camp here for two days of hunting, foraging and making all preparations for the journey south to Shanidar. The cousins agree.
[[Aritz organizes a hunt.]]
[[Making provisions.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Haizeacallsmeeting.mp3" autoplay>Aito, the Elder at Paio's camp, builds a small fire away from the others. He holds up a moss-wick lamp and with the lamp he creates slow circles of light in the darkness of the cave. A lion visits him and tells him that Uda is going to the home of the ancestors, to Shanidar.
Aito asks the lion to guide Uda on his journey. The lion asks Aito for a blessing in return. Aito sings a song about a peaceful village and a sleeping lion. The lion opens his mouth wide, yawns, sneezes and grunts with pleasure. The lion runs out of the cave and into the forest.
[[Uda encounters the lion.]]
[[Uda spies a band of Neanders.]]
[[Uda sees footprints.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/AitoSpeakstoLion.mp3" autoplay>Three cousins, the dancing women, leave the sanctuary of the Cave of the Brown Bear. The ancestors have shown them the way forward. They know what they must do.
They tell the Neanderthal people waiting outside the Cave that they should go to Esti's campsite now. Aritz is there. The three cousins have decided: their people will go to Shanidar with Haizea and her small band of refugees.
[[Aritz runs ahead to the campsite.]]
[[Haizea greets the cousins.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Cousinsmakedecision.mp3" autoplay> Esti is surrounded by angry Neanders who push her and shout at her. Cro-Magnons like her have murdered their kin. They are brimming with anger. Esti falls down. An angry woman raises her spear but Aritz intervenes. "Not yet," he says. Esti calls out to Oihana - "Run, Oihana!"
Oihana hears Esti's warning and he runs to the Cave. He is not allowed to enter the Cave. He sees that Xuxa is guarding the children. They are safe! But where is Haizea? He and Esti need her //now!// Oihana runs down the hill.
You step out of the Cave. You hear Esti's cries for help. You see Oihana running down the hill.
[[Oihana returns to the camp.]]
[[Haizea rescues Esti.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Esticallsout.mp3" autoplay> Uda follows a trail left by a group of people. These must be footprints of Haizea's cousins? The people who live at the Camp of the High Stone Arch? Surely they know about the massacre!
Uda is in danger. He finds even more footprints. Two people. He thinks these belong to Esti and Oihana. He tracks them, hoping they will lead him to you. "Where is Haizea? //Where is Eneko?//" His head hurts from the rock that Oihana struck him with. Maybe he should follow the larger group? Or should he follow Esti and Oihana? He is confused.
[[Uda finds Oihana and Esti's campsite.]]
[[Aritz captures Esti.]]
[[Uda discovers a hiding place.]]Uda follows a set of footprints leading to a campsite. The camp is nearly hidden by a large boulder. A fire has been lit and deer meat is roasting on a spit but no one is around. There's a lean-to in the back.
Where is everyone? The ground is trampled and muddy. People have been here recently. His head injury keeps him in a fog. The odor of roasting deer meat makes him hungry again, but he cannot risk being here right now. Too many questions. He stumbles back into the forest.
The lion walks beside him.
[[Aritz captures Esti.]]
[[Uda sees only blackness.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Udafindscampsite.mp3" autoplay>Oihana has run to the Cave, leaving the deer meat roasting over the fire back at the campsite. He sees that the children are safe and Xuxa is guarding them. He goes back to the camp, making his way through bramble and thicket, where he is least likely to be tracked.
The fire is still burning and the deer meat is roasting on the spit. A lion appears resting on a boulder above the campsite. Where is Esti?
[[Haizea rescues Esti.]]
[[Aritz runs ahead to the campsite.]]Esti is taken hostage by the cousins. When you leave the cave, you hear her cries for help. You blow into the conch. Aritz sends back a signal. You run through the woods in his direction.
Aritz is angry. He shouts, "I have been waiting for you, but you have brought Magnons here! We will kill this one!" You shout, "No! Esti is one of //us//. Esti has helped me and Eneko escape from the massacre. //No one will hurt her//."
Aritz looks at the ground. He turns to the cousins who shove Esti towards you. You glare at them but in your heart you know that they have lost everything. You take Esti in your arms and hold her gently. The cousins stare at you.
You face them and say, "Come to the camp." You say, "We will eat, and then we will make a plan." A murmur goes through the crowd.
[[Haizea and Esti go to the river.]]
[[The cousins make a decision.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Haizearescues.mp3" autoplay> As Esti and Oihana drag the deer back to camp, Oihana sees tracks in the clearing. There are people on the move, including children. Could Paio be looking for them?? That is unlikely. And the Neanders at the other camp have been killed. So, who else is on the move?
Someone in the forest signals loudly with a conch shell. Esti and Oihana are startled. People are coming and they are very close. Judging from the signal, they are Neanders.
Esti and Oihana hear the soft tramping of feet on earth and a rustling of leaves up ahead. They quietly place the deer on the ground and crouch behind a thicket of shrubs. They see 20 Neanders walking along the path. Esti recognizes the one called Aritz from the Neanderthal Camp of the High Stone Arch. Aritz is Haizea's cousin and he is carrying a large conch.
Esti is not sure that she can convince Aritz that she and Oihana are friendly.
[[Oihana leaves the camp.]]
[[Uda calls out.]]
[[The cousins press forward.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Aritzarrives.mp3" autoplay>You, Esti and the children go down to the river. You wash the red ochre from your face and the white limestone powder from your hair. Everyone bathes in the river.
As you make your way to the camp, Esti asks you what's going on. You tell her that the cousins are in mourning and everyone needs food and rest. You have made a decision. The cousins will make camp with you and you will all travel together. Esti says nothing.
[[The cousins make a decision.]]
[[Esti speaks her mind.]]
<!--<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/HaizeaEstiRiver.mp3" autoplay>-->The cousins have collected garlic, onions, mushrooms, asparagus and plantain. They have collected sorrel, blackberries, nettles and borage. They have caught hare and partridge, and have found eggs. Everyone will eat well.
Oihana and Esti's deer is ready. The cousins have brought water from the spring. Everyone eats.
[[Uda tells a story.]]
[[Haizea calls a meeting.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Everyoneeats.mp3" autoplay>The cousins come out of the woods and enter the campsite. You greet them with open arms. Esti stands back. Aritz tends to Uda's head wound. Oihana and Eneko put more deer meat on the fire.
The Neanders come into the camp. They bring food to share. The rituals and visions from the Cave are clear in their minds. The cousins are clear.
[[Uda tells a story.]]
[[Everyone eats.]]
<!--<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/FILENAME.mp3" autoplay> SILENT? -->Aritz runs ahead to the campsite. On his way he stumbles across Uda who has fallen on the trail. He thinks, another Magnon! Aritz helps Uda to stand and they walk together to the campsite. Uda's head is throbbing.
Oihana is at the campsite. Aritz tells Oihana that //his// people, Haizea's cousins, will be here soon. Haizea is coming. They need food. Oihana does not speak. He looks at Uda and then at Aritz. Haizea has some explaining to do.
Aritz lays Uda on a pallet. He opens a bag of healing herbs. He makes a poultice of wolfbane and ties it around Uda's head. Uda is crying. He is remorseful, perhaps for the first time in his life. Aritz gives him tea with yarrow and valerian.
His people are watching from the nearby woods. A lion rests on its haunches atop a boulder.
[[Haizea and Esti go to the river.]]
[[Eneko finds Uda in the shelter.]]Uda awakens. He steps forward and greets everyone. Everyone stares silently. His head wound is wrapped. People are seated around the fire. Uda tells a story.
Uda says, "A thousand thousand summers ago, the shaman called Bihotz came to Shanidar. Bihotz was neither man nor woman, neither Cro Magnon nor Neanderthal. They were the ancestor of the ancestors." The people murmur softly. They know of Bihotz.
Uda says, "Bihotz said people will walk across every continent. People will fly." The Neanders laugh, saying "Uda is clearly hallucinating." Uda continues, "People will kill each other and they will kill the earth itself. Everything will die."
The cousins shift and frown. Uda's story makes them uncomfortable. But the part about the ancestor called Bihotz from time before anyone can remember - Bihotz is //their// ancestor, too. How will people kill the earth itself? That makes no sense!
Uda says, "Bihotz says that everyone who was once alive is still a part of us. Bihotz says that everyone once alive still walks with us." He says, "We need the earth."
The Neanders have deep memory. Some nod in recognition that Uda is passing along knowledge. Uda says to take only what you need from the earth and leave the rest. Uda is beginning to find his place. Uda's white hair glistens. He must rest now.
The lion sleeps.
[[Haizea calls a meeting.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Udatellsstory.mp3" autoplay>Uda is laying on a pallet at the back of the campsite. Aritz is by his side. Eneko sees Uda and walks up to him shyly. Uda opens his eyes and holds out a hand. Eneko takes his hand and sits beside him, not letting go. You watch them from the corner of your eye. Esti watches you. Oihana watches Esti.
Alasne plays with the other children at the camp. Xuxa and the other wolf-dogs have been fed. The dogs will guard the camp tonight.
[[Haizea greets the cousins.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/EnekofindsUda.mp3" autoplay> Aritz organizes a hunt. Some stay at the camp to watch the children. They will skin, clean and smoke whatever animals the hunters bring back. Others go to the river for fish, reeds and grasses, and brown coals.
Wise women gather plants in the forest and meadow - roots, leafy greens, mushrooms and moss; flowers, fruit, seeds and tubers; medicine and bark; sacred plants for knowledge. The flint knappers make knives, scrapers, axes, and needles.
[[Oihana joins the hunt.]]
[[The foragers go into the forest.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Aritzorganizeshunt.mp3" autoplay>When the hunters return, people at the camp prepare the meat, bones, and organs. Almost every part of the animal is used. Bones are crushed and the marrow is sucked out.
The hides are burnished with scrapers. People use their saliva to soften the hide, running every inch of the skin through clenched teeth to create soft leather. People weave baskets and braid reeds into rope.
Meanwhile, herbs, roots, mushrooms and vegetables are laid out to dry. Seeds and grains are pounded to flour, mixed with fat, water, and berries and cooked as flat pancakes. These provide energy while on the trail.
Children gather sticks for the fire. The dogs are fed. They guard the camp.
You will do this for one year, the time it will take to find Shanidar.
[[A field of poppies. ]]
[[Esti receives a gift.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Makingprovisions.mp3" autoplay>Oihana joins the hunt. Aritz tells him to partner with Gentza, who has only one arm and walks with a limp. Aritz must be joking! Gentza does not seem like a suitable hunting partner at all! They will never bring back a deer.
Gentza already knows that this Magnon hunting partner is excitable and emotional, like all of them, and seems to doubt Gentza's ability to hunt. Gentza thinks Oihana is a fool but he lets that thought pass quickly. At least Oihana can speak Gentza's language, in a limited way.
Gentza and Oihana go into the forest together. The larger hunting group spreads out. Gentza's good arm is powerful. He and Oihana track and kill a deer with few problems. They drag it through the woods together. Gentza likes to talk and makes this chore more pleasant by telling stories of his journeys and escapades.
Oihana enjoys Gentza's company. Oihana laughs at Gentza's stories.
Back at the camp, a fire is ready. Oihana is embarrassed by his earlier attitude but Gentza bears no ill will. Gentza smiles warmly.
[[Gentza offers wine to Oihana.]]
[[Haizea brings Eneko on the hunt.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Oihanajoinshunt .mp3" autoplay>Alasne tags along with those collecting medicinal herbs, roots, mushrooms, and vegetables. They find grains for making grilled and boiled patties. Grains for fermented broth as well.
Alasne climbs over a knot of tree-root at the edge of the woods and stumbles into a field of bright red blossoms. Some of the petals have fallen to the ground, revealing large yellow-green seed pods. Alasne breaks off a few of the seed pods and runs back to the foraging group.
[[A field of poppies. ]]
[[Haizea brings Eneko on the hunt.]]
<!--<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/FILENAME.mp3" autoplay> SILENT -->There is a sanctuary beyond the main gallery of the Cave. You prepare to enter the sanctuary. You paint one side of your face red and the other black. You paint a white line down the center of your face. You powder your hair with crushed limestone chalk. There is a small bladder of mushroom medicine tied to the inside of your tunic. Luckily it hasn't spilled out!
You are ready. You take a stone lamp, a moss wick, and a piece of flint from your pack and fill the lamp with animal fat.
The children are sitting near the mouth of the cave. They have picked flowers. Eneko knows that the ancestors are watching.
[[Haizea finds the passageway.]]
[[Esti and Oihana make camp.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/HaizeaPrepares.mp3" autoplay>Aritz approaches Esti and Oihana's camp quietly. Esti tends to the fire. She hears a twig break and turns around. What??!! Aritz lunges forward and grabs her arm. She pulls away but his grip is firm and he is angry. Esti screams. Much to his surprise she speaks his language: "Don't touch me!" She thinks to herself, "Where is Haizea??!"
Aritz drags Esti to the hill where the Neanderthal cousins have gathered. The cousins surround Esti. They push her and yell at her. They raise their spears over her.
Haizea is in the Cave. The women are in the sanctuary dancing.
[[Three cousins perform a dance ritual.]]
[[Esti calls out a warning.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/AritzcapturesEsti.mp3" autoplay>Eneko hunts small animals. As he searches close to the ground, he finds an egg that is bigger than both his hands together. He picks it up. The egg is heavy.
Eneko brings you the egg and you realize that the egg is a relic of a very ancient world, a world where the animals were larger than any mammoth today. They were giants who caused the ground to tremble when they walked. You tell Eneko to take the egg, but it is not for eating. You tell Eneko about the giants who laid these eggs. Eneko will tell everyone about them around the fire tonight.
[[Uda apologizes and grieves.]]
[[Esti and Oihana speak privately]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Enekofindsegg.mp3" autoplay> Oihana and Gentza go back to the camp together. Esti watches them and gives you a quick smile. Perhaps things will work out afterall.
Oihana did not think he would find a partner among the Neanders, but of course he is putting too much thought into it. Most likely it is nothing, just a fling.
Gentza takes up small tasks around the camp. A meal will be ready soon. Gentza is singing and Haizea sings along in harmony. A song about a fallen hunter whose true love waits for him at home. Oihana lights two small lamps.
[[Eneko finds a large egg.]]
[[Uda paints his tunic.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Oihanafalls.mp3" autoplay>Alasne goes back to camp carrying a bouquet of red flowers. Poppies. The women then follow Alasne back to the poppy field and gather ripe bulbs. They leave some for strangers who may also travel this way.
The poppies are a good addition to Esti's medicine kit, along with comfrey, nettles, and dandelion root. She has mint, valerian, yarrow, chamomile, and calendula as well.
Esti prepares sap from the poppies, cooking it gently. It is a little too fresh but a small amount will still make good medicine. She is thinking about Aito's stories. Aito claims her people have visited Shanidar time and again. Her people and Haizea's people were the same. They were like Bihotz, perhaps. She stirs the brew gently.
[[Uda apologizes and grieves.]]
[[Uda has a vision.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Fieldofpoppies.mp3" autoplay> Bihotz, the ancient shaman, visits Alasne. Bihotz builds a fire and in the smoke she conjures images from the future. Alasne looks into the spiral of smoke and sees people walking for 40,000 years. She sees them sailing across the sea. They sail along a waterway of kelp to the southern tip of a western continent. Some settle along the way. Some move inland. Their children play in the white sand.
Chesa sits down with Bihotz and Alasne. Bihotz says that someday people will fly. Alasne imagines flying. Bihotz says that people will fly to the moon. Chesa nods. She is an old woman who knows the truth when she hears it. Chesa smokes her pipe.
Aritz's silver braids reach all the way down his back. You go to him often for advice. You end up laughing and reminiscing, then tears come. The old days are over.
[[Gentza says goodbye.]]
[[Into the Holocene.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/BihotzvisitsAlasne.mp3" autoplay>You and Esti have been through much hardship and yet she has never let you down. You think about her all the time. You want to be with her forever. You speak to Uda.
Uda agrees to perform a ritual for you and Esti so that she is yours and you are hers. Esti gives Uda medicine from the poppies.
[[Esti and Haizea are together.]]Uda's battered head is healing. He tells you he is sorry for attacking your father, Gorka. He is sorry for trying to kidnap Eneko. Aito and the lion have given him insight. Uda cries loudly. The people look away.
You are mourning Gorka and the small band of Neanders you lived with until just a few weeks ago. The Cro-Magnon mammoth hunters killed everyone in a violent rage. Uda was with them but Uda came to his senses, however late in the game. Besides, Uda is too pathetic to hate right now. Eneko is //his// son, too.
Aritz restores the calm. He plays a flute made of the bone of a vulture. Oihana takes up the drum. Uda sings:
Yesterday I stood amidst fields of plenty
My path was clear and my friends were true
But then a lightning spark of anger
Touched the ground where I stood
You say move on before the moon is full
Before the push, before the pull
The aurochs and lion, the megaceros and deer
Move on to the lake where the water is clear
Where the new day gives us a place without fear
[[Uda has a vision.]]
[[Gentza offers wine to Oihana.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Udaapologizes.mp3" autoplay>v Haizea and Esti stay at Gundi in the valley below Shanidar Cave. Their loved ones are laid to rest in the Cave. They place stones of jade, agate and opal on the graves but the number of friends at the funeral feasts has dwindled until eventually Esti and Haizea are the only ones at the feast.
Forty thousand years go by. Archeologists come to Shanidar. They find Gentza, buried on his side, his legs and arms folded carefully and stones placed atop his body. They find Aritz, who was buried with flowers - yarrow, blue cornflower, purple thistle, yellow ragwort, grape hyacinth and hollyhock. The archaeologists write it all down. They collect pollen, draw pictures and measure the bones. They record the flute melodies of the Kurds who winter at Shanidar.
Bihotz hovers nearby allowing the remains to be brought into the light. They offer a prayer to protect the ancestors as archeologists dig.
The archeologists take Gentza, Oihana, Aritz, Alasne, Esti and Haizea away from Shanidar. They remove the tiny bones of Alasne's baby boy. Shepherds come and build a fire. Bihotz sits with them. Chesa arrives. She lights her pipe and sits with them. Sheep graze. Flowers grow.
[[Go back to the beginning of Act III->Act III: To Shanidar.]]
[[Credits]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Holocene.mp3" autoplay>Shanidar, Safe Return
Story and drawings by Cecilia Dougherty
Music, field recordings, sound effects and sound mix by Cecilia Dougherty
Archeological information sourced from these books:
Ralph S. Solecki, //Shanidar, The First Flower People//
Rebecca Wragg Sykes, //Kindred, Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art//
Jean Clottes, //What is Paleolithic Art? Cave Paintings and the Dawn of Human Creativity//
Paabo Svante, //Neanderthal Man: In Search of Lost Genomes//
AndrƩ Leroi-Gourhan, //Gesture and Speech//
Paulette F. C. Steeves, //The Indigenous Paleolithic of the Western Hemisphere//
Max Raphael, //Prehistoric Paintings//
S. Giedion, //The Eternal Present: The Beginnings of Art//
Vine Deloria, Jr., //Red Earth, White Lies: Native Americans and the Myth of Scientific Fact//
Sources of inspiration:
Marija Gimbutas, archaeologist, visionary
Author Jean Auel for her //Earth's Children// series of novels set in Paleolithic Eurasia
Artist Tom Bjƶrklund and artists Adrie & Alfons Kennis for re-directing our gaze on early humans from brutish knuckle-walkers to likeable, intelligent and handsome people. Artist Mauricio AntĆ³n for imagining Homo heidelbergensis with compassion and empathy
Elise Gardella, for proofing, commentary, and encouragement
Jamie Chan, for exhibiting 97 of the original drawings for this story at Essex Flowers gallery in New York
Special thanks to beta testers:
Frances H.D. Stevens, Pat Swope, Karen Shertzer, Jamie Chan, Elise Gardella, Nancy Mackowsky, Joshua Thorson, Deville Cohen, Azian Nurudin
I am thankful to our ancestors on all continents, who left records of "life, love, death and art" in deep time.
Carved deer bone animation by //National Geographic//, used under a Creative Commons license.
[[Additional sound effects credits.]]
The IFID for this story is EBCDACBA-C6E1-4A84-B91E-B900771B4535.
Created in Twine. 2023.
//Shanidar// is the sequel to my 2019 interactive story <a href="https://paleolithic.ceciliadougherty.com" target="_blank">//Time Before Memory//</a>
[[Go back to the beginning->Eurasia, 40,000 years ago.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/TBMtheme.mp3" autoplay>Eneko is leaving Shanidar. Chesa offers a blessing to the four corners of the earth. Eneko, Naia and the Denisovans will have a safe journey.
The Denisovans travel to Sundaland and Sahul. Eneko, Naia, and a small group of young people sail on until they reach the islands in the middle of the ocean. A peaceful life awaits.
You and Esti have been happy at Shanidar but now the climate grows colder. You and Esti will finish your days here. Alasne will stay. Gentza and Oihana will stay. Others get ready for a journey to the caves at the White Cliff.
[[Bihotz visits Alasne.]]
[[Gentza says goodbye.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Enekosaysgoodbye.mp3" autoplay>An earthquake strikes at Shanidar. A flint knapper is caught unawares and is crushed by a large boulder. He dies instantly. People try to move the boulder but cannot move it. Their friend is gone.
You prepare a funeral dinner to honor the flint knapper. People build a large fire. They cry and tell stories about the young flint knapper.
Most people live outside the Cave. They dig post holes, set up wooden frames and construct shelters. They find safety in their village at Gundi.
[[Flower burial.]]
[[Denisovans return. ]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Rockfall.mp3" autoplay>The Denisovans come to Shanidar. You and Aritz greet them warmly. Aroa brings a plant with star-shaped leaves that she says is medicine. Aroa says the leaves can calm a troubled mind and energize a lethargic body. "With kanabisa," she says with eyes lowered, "lovemaking is a sacrament. And then it brings on irresistible cravings for honey!" Everyone laughs.
You thank the Denisovans and take the gift of leaves and seeds. You give them figs, pistachios and smoked meat for their journey.
Ibai asks Eneko where he can find the best wood for boat-building near here. Eneko tells him of a forest of oak further into the mountains. Eneko draws a map using wet chalk.
[[Eneko and Naia meet again.]]
[[Denisovans travel onward.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Denisovansreturn.mp3" autoplay>You bury the dead in the Cave at Shanidar. Bihotz tells you to gather these flowers: yarrow, blue cornflower, purple thistle, yellow ragwort, grape hyacinth and hollyhock. The flowers grow in colorful patches on the hill above the Cave. When someone dies, Bihotz says to bury them with flowers.
[[Denisovans return. ]]
[[Bihotz visits Alasne.]]
[[Gentza says goodbye.]]
<!--<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/FILENAME.mp3" autoplay>-->Esti is angry. The cousins held her captive and threatened to kill her or banish her to the woods. Your words of welcome to them do not sit well with Esti. You want everyone to work together, but Esti is Magnon and Magnons tend to fight.
Esti says, "I will stay with you, Haizea, on the condition that I am a full partner in everything we do. We work together on this." You answer, "Yes." You know deep down that you must take the lead if this group is ever to reach Shanidar, but Esti //is your life//. You say, "Esti, I am the leader for now but you will always be by my side, as my equal." Esti says "yes" and takes your hand.
[[Eneko finds Uda in the shelter.]]
[[Haizea greets the cousins.]] The entire camp is hard at work preserving foodstuffs and gathering flint for the journey. Some make baskets while others scrape hides, then use their teeth to soften them.
Oihana goes to the river. Gentza follows him with a bladder of blackberry wine and they bathe in the river. They sit on the banks of the river and drink wine, talking, each revealing his plans and wishes for their new home at Shanidar. The wine helps them make plans.
Oihana reaches out to Gentza and lightly cups the back of his head, pulling him gently forward. They kiss.
[[Oihana falls in love.]]
[[Haizea finds a shell.]]
[[Esti and Oihana speak privately]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Gentzaofferswine.mp3" autoplay>You, your young son, Eneko, and Aritz are hunting partners today. Eneko is growing fast. He is smaller than other Neander children, but he is quick and sharp and learns as well as any of them. You give him a small spear with a hafted point. He crouches close to the ground, looking for rabbits and voles.
Aritz spots a young buck through the trees. Using hand signals, you and he quickly trap and kill the animal. You give thanks to the animal whose life saves your own. After your prayer, Aritz drags the deer back to camp. You and Eneko continue the hunt.
[[Eneko finds a large egg.]]
[[Haizea finds a shell.]]Uda's head wound has healed. He has a thick scar above his left ear. A shock of white hair hangs over the scar. The people leave Uda to his own devices.
Uda walks away from camp. He feels a sudden sharp pain on the side of his head. The scar is burning up. He holds his head in his hands to ease the pain. The earth trembles a little. The birds and insects become silent.
The ground opens up in front of him. Uda stands on the edge of an endless pit. He peers into the pit and sees only the dense blackness of the abyss. Light can neither enter nor escape. He feels like he is being pulled in but is too terrified to move. He has been here before.
The scar on his head stops burning. The ground in front of him closes up. Birds and crickets sing. A rabbit scampers nearby. Trees sway in the late summer breeze and a babbling brook murmers softly to the small fish below.
[[Uda paints his tunic.]]
[[Haizea asks Uda to perform a ritual.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Udahasvision.mp3" autoplay>Aritz tells a story: On their way to the Cave of the Brown Bear, the cousins stopped at a cave near a winding river. The cave had a low ceiling and when they lit a fire inside the cave, they saw the tracks of a large three-toed animal across the ceiling!
Aritz says the tracks must be from a large bird, or how else could they be on the ceiling? Others argue that the tracks clearly were of a four-legged creature. A monster, perhaps a giant lizard who walks on ceilings. Heads nod in affirmation.
Aritz suddenly sends the guard dogs to the perimeter of the camp. They are ready if the monster should return. He looks around at the wide-eyed children and the amused adults in the crowd.
Eneko produces the egg he found that afternoon. Everyone rears back in astonishment. The egg is so big that Eneko has trouble holding it up. Everyone claps and calls out approval. Maybe it's an egg from the monster who walks across ceilings?
That night, the people sleep in the first chamber of the Cave. Esti and Oihana join them. The children dream about big creatures who walk on ceilings and lay giant eggs. The dogs are stationed at the edge of the camp, dreaming of rabbits.
[[Haizea asks Uda to perform a ritual.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Storytime.mp3" autoplay>Boulders inside the cave become loose and fall from the ceiling. Those inside are crushed. Aritz leads a search and rescue team. Xuxa finds the scent of people trapped under rocks.
The injured are brought out into the open. An aftershock at the wrong time could send more rocks tumbling. They must work fast.
Esti tends to the wounded. Water is fetched and a fire is built. Esti milks the poppy pods and makes tea for the injured. It will ease their pain and help them sleep. She prepares poultices and splints. Others assist.
Alasne and Eneko collect Xuxa's puppies and put them into their carrying basket. The children are brave.
[[A funeral.]]
[[Aritz stays behind.]]
[[Uda meets Bihotz.]]Your people have been traveling for a year. You sail together down a great river and stop at a large alluvial plain. The lake you must cross tomorrow is not much further.
At night, everyone gathers around the fire to share a meal, tell stories, and give thanks. There are mountains beyond the lake, and beyond the mountains, Shanidar. Someone found figs today - a first.
[[Shanidar.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Thelake.mp3" autoplay>There are 27 people traveling on foot from present-day France to a place in northern Iraq called Shanidar, more than 3900 km away. They will reach Shanidar in one year.
Today the people awaken before dawn and eat a meal of meat and fruit. They pack provisions in satchels and slings. They will hunt and forage along the way.
The sky is clear. Alasne carries Eneko's doll, Pala. Eneko holds her hand as they walk with Esti and Haizea. The people follow. Aritz and his son Ortzi are the last ones along the trail. Uda walks beside them, and the lion keeps pace at a distance.
They sing. They are burdened by neither dogma nor rationalizing and have little time for obsession.
They walk south and east. They make marks on the rocks with handprints and red dots and drawings of the constellations. These signs will one day wash away, but even as the red ochre seeps into the earth, it signifies.
[[The southern sea.]]
[[Uda teaches Alasne.]]
[[Denisovans travel southward.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/TBMtheme.mp3" autoplay>Esti tells you she is no longer afraid of the cousins. However, she is afraid you will abandon her because she is Magnon and you are Neander and they are your people. You tell her that you will never abandon her. You tell her that //she// is also one of the people. You give her a small shell that you found while hunting. It is so old that it is has turned to stone. Esti looks inside and sees the pearl.
[[Uda apologizes and grieves.]]
[[Uda has a vision.]]
[[Esti and Oihana speak privately]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Estireceivesgift.mp3" autoplay> Esti says to Oihana, "You do not seem like yourself lately. You and Gentza go off together in a world of your own." Oihana laughs and says that when he is with Gentza he is happy, but he really cannot think straight these days.
Esti understands. "That's how I feel about Haizea, but she is the leader now and has little time for me." Esti had always been respected as a healer and as Paio's daughter. But most of the people here do not even like her let alone respect her. Her medicine is good, however, and she will take care of anyone who needs it.
Oihana says that the cousins didn't know she was Haizea's companion. He says, "Frankly, you and Haizea should become partners and be joined together in the eyes of everyone here. Talk to Uda."
Esti says, "Then you and Gentza should do the same!" Oihana silently agrees but protests out loud saying, "I have to enjoy it while I can. Who knows what the future might bring?" He smiles to Esti, who smiles in return.
[[Uda has a vision.]]
[[Haizea brings Eneko on the hunt.]] Uda paints a lion on his tunic using charcoal and egg white. Will this make any difference? He hasn't the slightest notion. It feels like the right thing to do.
Aritz notices how Uda has changed. Uda no longer frets over petty concerns. Aritz himself is a healer but he believes that Uda is blessed.
Aritz allows Uda to enter the sanctuary of the Cave of the Brown Bear. Uda crawls through the passageway wearing the lion tunic. Once in the sanctuary, the dome of the cave dissolves. The southern cross ascends and rests on the horizon. Shanidar is to the south. Uda makes a vow to help the people. Uda falls to the ground.
[[Story time.]]
[[Haizea asks Uda to perform a ritual.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Udapaintstunic.mp3" autoplay>Your hunt has been successful. You teach Eneko how to recognize tracks left by deer and other animals. Even rabbits leave a trail. As you are looking at the ground, you see a small outcropping of calcite. There is a seashell embedded in the rock. You pick out the shell, scraping away the rock and dirt around it. You notice that the shell is open. Looking inside you see a pearl. You put the shell into a fold in your belt and continue hunting.
[[Oihana falls in love.]]
[[Esti receives a gift.]] The sun is low on the horizon. You and Esti sit opposite each other. Your hands are painted red, black and white. You and Esti join hands. Esti's hands are painted yellow and blue. Uda sits before you wearing his lion tunic.
Everyone gathers 'round. Uda lights a bundle of dried sage and with an eagle feather he sends the smoke over your hearts, heads, hands and feet. He sings out a prayer of protection. The sweet scent of sage surrounds you. Uda asks, "Will you walk this earth together until you meet the ancestors?" You and Esti look at each other. You say "yes," Esti says, "yes," and then you laugh out loud.
You kiss Esti on the mouth. Gentza smiles at Oihana. Drums and celebration. Children and dogs run and play. Food and drink for everyone.
[[Go back to the beginning of Act II->Act II: To the Cave of the Brown Bear]]
[[Go to Act III->Act III: To Shanidar.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/EstiHaizeatogether.mp3" autoplay>The people live in the valley east of the Cave, in a village they call Gundi. There are two rivers loaded with fish and there's a fresh spring at the top of the hill behind Shanidar Cave. They carve steps into the hill. The gurgling spring fills two clear pools and the pools are surrounded by blackberry bushes. People, goats, and pigs come to the spring to drink the water. People carry the water down to Gundi in goatskin bags. Children collect berries.
During the wet season, the gully fills up with water as mountain snows melt. The people live well.
Ten years go by, people are born and people die. Eneko and Alasne grow up. The dogs watch over Shanidar Cave and Gundi.
[[A generation passes.]]
<!--<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/FILENAME.mp3" autoplay>-->Uda and the lion run into the forest. The trees are a blur of green. Then everything stops. The forest recedes and there is blackness all around. Uda and the lion are at the edge of a deep pit. Uda looks into the pit; the pit swallows light and matter.
For a fleeting moment, Uda understands everything. Then fear grips him like a lightning spark from the base of his spine to the pores of his skin. His hairs stand on end. He jumps back from the edge of the abyss. The abyss disappears. A lock of his hair turns white. He is in the forest again. The lion sits opposite him, waiting.
[[Aritz runs ahead to the campsite.]]
[[Haizea rescues Esti.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Udaseesonlyblack.mp3" autoplay>You reach the southern sea. You come to a sandy beach and are blessed by warm breezes.
Guided by the stars, you travel eastward, staying close to the sea. There are carp and mollusks in abundance here. The sand soothes tired feet and the sea air energizes your bodies. Then you can travel south again, further inland.
Xuxa is restless. She has been mating with one of the other dogs.
[[Denisovans travel southward.]]
[[Many moons.]]
[[Uda teaches Alasne.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Southernsea.mp3" autoplay>You lead the group south along the shore of a great river. Eneko suggests building rafts to travel down the river between camp sites. Where did he pick up this knowledge?
Uda says, "There are enough good trees near this campsite to build rafts. If we sail down the river instead of walking along the path, we can travel very easily along the river route, with all the people and all the supplies. And we can do it in less time."
He mentions Bihotz again, but you only hear the part about rafts and decide that the day spent building rafts will be made up easily by the time saved traveling down the river. A new plan.
[[Ibai teaches Eneko.]]
[[Haizea and Uda find Eneko.]] The people have been walking for 6 months. Everyone is in a groove: hunt, fish, forage; make clothing from fur and leather, collect stone for tools. Gentza and Oihana are a formidable hunting team. They take pride in their work.
Cro-Magnons and Neanderthals begin to forget their differences. Friendship makes survival possible.
But the dogs are on edge. Xuxa is pregnant. One night her puppies are born just outside the campsite. Esti brings her food and water and makes a bed of hides for her and the puppies.
Aritz sounds the conch and in the distance someone returns the signal. You cannot stay by the sea forever. You must move on. You are headed for the camp of the Eastern cousins, who await your arrival. Winter approaches.
[[Alasne helps with the puppies.]]
[[The Eastern cousins.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Manymoons.mp3" autoplay>The first snowdrops are popping up in the meadow. You tell your people to start packing for the trip south. Oihana and Gentza lead one last hunt, careful to kill only what they need, mindful of the needs of the Eastern cousins who will stay here for a few more seasons.
Esti and Aritz forage for medicinals. They bring Alasne and Eneko along so the children can learn the healing plants. Xuxa comes along, too. She whines and is agitated. What is wrong, Xuxa?
[[Foraging - and rumbling.]]
[[Izar has a dream.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Latewinter.mp3" autoplay>Xuxa nurses her puppies. It will be a few months before she can bring them on a hunt. Right now, however, their eyes are growing sharp and they like to run and roll over one another. They tug at everything.
Alasne makes sure the puppies are not underfoot while the people prepare to move on. With Eneko's help, she weaves a basket for the puppies. Uda creates a frame for the basket and will carry Xuxa's puppies on his back until they are able to keep up with the group.
[[Boomerangs.]]
[[Haizea and Esti.]]You and Esti are in the meadow gathering medicinal herbs. Chamomile, horsetail, yarrow, poplar leaves and bark. Mushrooms. You find radishes, garlic and carrots, too.
There is a stand of birches near a stream that runs north of the meadow. You gather birch bark. You will make tar from this bark for hafting axes and spear points to wooden handles. The tar holds the shaft to the stone.
Suddenly there is a rumble from beneath your feet. You turn quickly and call out to Esti. The rumble is now a roar. The ground rolls like waves beneath you. The trees sway and water from the stream rises into the air. You grab Esti's hand and run back to camp. Trees are falling.
[[Esti tends to the injured.]]
[[A funeral.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Foragingrumbling.mp3" autoplay>The tremblers have ceased. The children are brought together - they are all okay. People injured in the earthquake are patched up and resting. But others were struck and killed by falling rocks, boulders the size of bison. They are covered by the rocks. Flowers and quartz crystals are placed near where their bodies lay.
And some people have fallen into a crevice. Their bodies are retrieved and placed in shallow depressions dug into the back of one of the caves. The shaman Chesa paints their faces, arms and legs with red ochre. She lights a pipe and prays for the dead.
A fire is lit. A meal is prepared. As the people eat, Chesa tells stories recalling brave or funny or tender moments in the lives of those who have passed. She says that earthquakes will follow Haizea's people to Shanidar. You stare into the fire.
[[Aritz stays behind.]]
[[Uda meets Bihotz.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Afuneral.mp3" autoplay>The ancient shaman Bihotz visits Uda before dawn. They tell him that everyone must leave now. Shanidar is waiting. Bihotz is very old and is dressed in beads and shells. They carry a wooden spear. Bihotz's brow ridges are pronounced; their forehead is low and sloping. Feathers and beads adorn their hair.
Bihotz says that Uda must follow the directions given to him by Aito, the Cro Magnon Elder. Bihotz says the group will come to a large lake and to not go around it but rather to go across it.
Uda doesn't know how to cross the lake. Bihotz tells him that he will learn and that Eneko will help him. Uda nods in acceptance.
[[Ortzi guides Eneko.]]
[[Aritz stays behind.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/UdameetsBihotz.mp3" autoplay>Uda takes Alasne under his wing. She learns fast, first about plants and animals, and then about stars and seasons.
As you travel south, you note the abundance of mosses and lichen which you can use to carry fire from one camp to the next. Uda teaches Alasne about the red flowers she found.
[[Uda takes a walk.]]
[[Many moons.]]Uda drinks tea made from poppies. He walks out from the campsite. You watch him with concern but Oihana and Esti tell you to let him be.
Xuxa follows him and together they climb a low peak in the foothills of the northern mountain range. Uda sits. The earth moves in one way and the sky moves in another. Xuxa lifts her head high and howls. Uda does the same and the stars and planets whorl around them.
The earth shakes violently. The abyss opens again. Uda stands up and looks into the pit where light cannot enter. He does not look away. He faces the darkness. He stands on the edge of the abyss and is healed. Xuxa waits. The pit of darkness recedes and Uda is lying on the ground looking up at the stars.
Uda and Xuxa walk back to camp. Uda looks for you but you and Esti are not there. He tells everyone, "Be careful. The earth is restless."
[[Many moons.]]
[[Haizea and Esti.]]
[[The Eastern cousins.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Udatakeswalk.mp3" autoplay>You and Esti do nothing but work. You and Aritz are responsible for everyone's survival, but who is responsible for yours? Esti, that's who.
You and Esti walk to the foothills of the mountains bringing wine, an oil lamp and some hides to place on the ground. You are just far enough from camp to find peace and time alone. You put the hides on the ground and sit down with Esti. You have the cool night air, the wine, and each other.
Esti tells you she misses her people. You tell her that you, too, miss the old place and the old ways. You remind her that your father, Gorka, is dead, along with most of your clan. Esti says, "Haizea, I am sorry for what my people did!" She is crying. Esti is full of mixed feelings. You hold her closely. Your arms are like home to Esti.
She kisses you and you return her love. You touch her tenderly and she moves under you like liquid fire.
[[Chesa remembers the Denisovans.]]
[[Late winter.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/HaizeaEsti.mp3" autoplay>You reach the cave of the Eastern cousins and are greeted warmly. The shaman Chesa asks you to stay through winter. She wants to hear about Shanidar.
Esti notices that the Neanders from the East resemble Eneko, with smaller brows and something of a chin. Everyone is coming up together, she thinks. She looks at you and senses you can read her thoughts.
Winter is coming. You decide that your group will stay with the Eastern cousins until Spring. Your people help provide food for everyone during the early winter hunt. For you and Esti, staying here for winter means time alone for the first time since you were wed.
[[Haizea and Esti.]]
[[Boomerangs.]]
[[Alasne helps with the puppies.]] Aritz stays with the Eastern cousins to help with the injured. He will travel to Shanidar when they no longer need him. The Eastern cousins adopt some of Xuxa's puppies.
Without Aritz, you alone are responsible for your people until you reach Shanidar. Uda has been given directions to Shanidar from his clan's elder, Aito. Uda will help you.
Uda says that the ancient one Bihotz has visited him. They are helping to guide him to Shanidar. You shake your head, hoping he is right. You look up to the sky. Trust in the stars. Aritz plays his flute.
[[Uda advises Eneko.]]
[[Denisovans reach the river.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Aritzstaysbehind.mp3" autoplay>Aritz has stories to tell. He says some of the Eastern cousins are going to the peninsula of the White Cliff that juts out high above the sea. There are caves at the bottom of the cliff. The sea is only a mile away and the sand is warm. There are ibex, deer, tortoises and dolphins. Neanders have lived there for millennia and the cousins will be welcomed.
You are heartened by the news. The cousins are safe and your people will soon be at Shanidar. Aito's directions were right, afterall!
[[The lake.]]
[[The Denisovans sail away.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Whitecliff.mp3" autoplay>Ortzi, Aritz's son, is older and guides Eneko in his explorations. Ortzi is a lot like Aritz. The boys meet a stranger in the woods, a man who is neither Neanderthal nor Cro Magnon and whose language they cannot speak. The stranger repeats his name over and over again: Ibai.
Ibai talks to them, making signs with his hands. "My people are from the Hermit's cave far to the north," he says. "We have been traveling for twelve years and are going to Sundaland and Sahul." Eneko and Ortzi learn a few words. Ibai explains - there are Islands to the south and east in the middle of a large Ocean. The boys are intrigued. Ibai runs off and disappears into the woods.
Xuxa finds the boys and leads them back to camp. Eneko tells Uda about Ibai. Uda tells Eneko he must go back and find Ibai. Bihotz's prophecy is coming true.
[[Izar remembers the old stories.]]
[[Eneko and Ortzi go to the river's edge.]]
[[A new way.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/OrtziguidesEneko.mp3" autoplay>The winter ice has melted. Aroa, the matron of the group, travels ahead to look for the great river that will carry them southward. She runs back to the group and tells them to go eastward. The river is to the east.
Ibai and the Denisovans make four sturdy rafts to take people and provisions downriver. Ibai and the carvers make oars and rudders to maneuver the rafts efficiently. Ibai carves a turtle on the side of his raft.
Within days, the Denisovans launch their watercraft and are making their way southward.
[[Foraging - and rumbling.]]
[[Esti tends to the injured.]]
[[Izar remembers the old stories.]]Denisovans are on the move. They are rugged people from the far northeast. Their stories of living in these mountains go back a thousand generations. They remember the Neanders, their old friends.
Led by Izar and Aroa, the Denisovans are traveling south to Sundaland and Sahul. They cross the highest mountain range. At a hotsprings, children play in the soft travertine clay making handprints that will harden over time.
The Denisovans travel along river routes using rafts and dugout canoes. Ibai is their boat builder. They will sail through the southeastern archipelago to the southern continent.
The Denisovans venture further than anyone before them. One day they will reach the volcanic islands that sit like gems in the middle of the sea.
[[Boomerangs.]]
[[Many moons.]]
[[Uda takes a walk.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Denisovanstravelsouth.mp3" autoplay>Izar leads the Denisovans to an acacia forest. The yellow flowers are beautiful and the Denisovans chew the acacia seeds for energy. Izar's partner Aroa says that the hardwood is good for carving weapons, especially boomerangs.
With boomerangs they can hunt large animals much more safely than with spears. If the boomerang is thrown with great force, it can easily bring down an animal as large as an aurochs. They become experts in using boomerangs.
[[Izar has a dream.]]
[[Time to go.]]
[[Chesa remembers the Denisovans.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Boomerangs.mp3" autoplay>The shaman Chesa appears to Izar in a dream. Izar is lying just below the surface of a lake and Chesa floats above him, just inches above the water. Chesa tells Izar that he will meet a group of people whose lineage goes back as far as his own. Izar believes he already knows these people.
Chesa asks Izar for a lock of his hair. He cuts off a lock of red hair and she takes it from him and disappears.
He wakes up. His face and body are wet.
[[Denisovans reach the river.]]
[[Uda advises Eneko.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Izarhasdream.mp3" autoplay>The Denisovans live in the acacia forest for 12 years. The forest is good to them.
But these days Aroa sleeps fitfully. She feels the ground move from somewhere deep inside the earth. Izar, lying next to her, talks in his sleep. He says "Chesa."
In the morning, Izar and Aroa tell the Denisovans that it's time to go, time to start their southward trek.
[[Foraging - and rumbling.]]
[[Denisovans reach the river.]] Eneko tells Aritz's son Ortzi that he saw a man on the path to the river, a stranger. They leave camp together and walk to the river's edge. There are rafts floating down the river. The rafts carry people that Eneko and Ortzi have never encountered before. The people use wooden sticks to push the rafts forward. One of them blows into a long tube.
Eneko goes to the riverbank and watches them. He recognizes Ibai, the man he saw earlier. He holds up his arms and waves to them.
[[Izar meets Chesa.]]
[[A new way.]]
[[Ibai teaches Eneko.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/EnekoOrtziriversedge.mp3" autoplay>Aritz has finally returned to Haizea's camp after months of living with the Eastern cousins. You confer with Izar and Aritz. Your people need a way to go across the lake just north of Shanidar. The Denisovans offer to help.
Izar recalls his dream about the shaman Chesa. He now understands the prophecy. The Denisovans help the others build rafts that will take them across the lake.
The men and women listen to Izar's instructions. They learn to build rafts and soon they have a flotilla for their journey south.
[[The Denisovans sail away.]]
[[The White Cliff.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Flotilla.mp3" autoplay> Eneko wants to go to the river. Is he allowed? Uda tells him to bring a conch shell with him when he goes exploring in order to signal back to the group. Eneko is growing up fast.
As Eneko's mother, you are angry at Uda for encouraging him to explore on his own. But it's natural for Eneko to seek Uda's advice. You give Eneko the conch shell. Eneko asks Aritz's son, Ortzi, to go with him. You watch them as they enter the path and walk towards the river.
[[Denisovans reach the river.]]
[[Ortzi guides Eneko.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/UdaadvisesEneko.mp3" autoplay>Izar's people plan the journey south. They know that Neanders are nearby and are watching them. Izar remembers the old stories about Neanders and about sharing campsites with them on the northern steppes. He wants to meet up with them and hear their stories. He wants to know where they are going. His dream about the shaman Chesa is coming true. Izar sits.
[[Izar meets Chesa.]]
[[Eneko and Ortzi go to the river's edge.]]
[[Uda meets Bihotz.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Izarremembers.mp3" autoplay>Ibai, the Denisovan boat-builder, teaches Eneko how to construct a sturdy raft. Eneko watches every move Ibai makes. He pitches in. He's a fast learner. Ibai is building a raft for Eneko.
Eneko is so pleased that he picks up the conch and sounds out a signal that means "friends are nearby." Your ears pick up. You send back a signal that you are coming. You and Uda run to find Eneko.
The Denisovans stay until the early springtime.
[[Haizea and Uda find Eneko.]]
[[Aritz returns.]]
[[A flotilla of rafts.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/IbaiteachesEneko.mp3" autoplay>You and Uda run to find Eneko at the Denisovan camp. Eneko is surrounded by the Denisovans. He seems happy! The Denisovans are not like the Neanders and are not like the Magnons. They are like //both// of them, or like //neither// of them. Uda thinks they are a bit like Bihotz.
The Denisovans are Eneko's friends. They teach him how to build a boat. He now knows a few Denisovan words. A pretty girl named Naia is with them. Eneko gives Naia a string of red and yellow painted seashells. She takes them, looks up slowly, and then runs away.
[[Aritz returns.]]
[[The White Cliff.]]Izar follows the Neanders as they head back to their camp. Before reaching the camp, Izar sees the Neanderthal shaman Chesa, who seems to be waiting for him on the trail. He recognizes her from his dream. Chesa greets Izar like a long lost friend. She wears a necklace of talons and in the middle of it is a lock of red hair. She tells him that the Denisovans will succeed in their journey. She tells him that Ibai will build ships to sail across the ocean and they will find paradise.
Izar goes forward to the camp and meets Eneko's people. They want to sail down the river and so they shall. Chesa is in the forest. Spring is coming.
[[Aritz returns.]]
[[A flotilla of rafts.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/IzarmeetsChesa.mp3" autoplay> On the horizon, you see a stout man with red hair and beard. He waves to you. It's Aritz! He has returned to camp from wintering with the Eastern cousins.
Aritz is thinner. There are grey hairs in his red beard. "Haizea! Esti!" He cries when he sees you. You open your arms. You will reach Shanidar together. A soft rain falls.
[[A flotilla of rafts.]]
[[The White Cliff.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Aritzreturns.mp3" autoplay>Oihana and Gentza go hunting. They spot a red deer and kill it, giving thanks. They put the deer on a travois and drag it back to camp. Someone gets a large fire going just outside the Cave and the people put the meat on a rack over the fire. They give the deerskin to Uda.
Uda drinks tea brewed from dried mushrooms. People gather 'round. Uda leads them up the hill atop the Cave. White anemones are in bloom. Wearing the red deer's antlers on his head and the deerskin and tail over his back and down his spine, Uda stands up and faces the sun. He dances. The animal's blood runs down his arms and legs. He dances away the mammoth hunters of Paio's camp, the arduous journey, hunger and loss. He prays.
Bihotz arrives. Uda sees Bihotz as though through a fire. Bihotz wears beads and shells. Bihotz opens their arms, holding a wooden spear over everyone. Alasne sees Bihotz. Then Bihotz vanishes in smoke. Everyone sees the smoke. It's time for a feast.
[[A generation passes.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Udasritual.mp3" autoplay>Figs, pomegranates, dates, pistachios and pine nuts. Fennel, chickpeas, lentils, wheat and barley. Poppies, flax and flint. Red deer, goats, tortoises, pigs, geese, and horses. Elephants.
A generation passes. Uda opens the abyss for one final encounter. He says his work is done. He dives into the abyss and it swallows him whole. When Uda fails to return to Gundi, the people understand that he is gone for good. They pay tribute to Uda with a feast and storytelling. You and Eneko mourn quietly. The lion runs up the hill behind Shanidar Cave and disappears.
Alasne is a healer. Her daughter throws seeds onto the ground and a patch of wheat emerges. No reason to leave now. Gentza and Oihana are elders.
[[Chesa visits Izar and Aroa.]]
[[Rockfall.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Generationpasses.mp3" autoplay>The Denisovans have stayed with your people for one month. They have taught you many things. They are leaving now and your son Eneko is going with them. He is staying by Naia's side as they travel across the water. Eneko says the Denisovans have sent scouts across the ocean. They have found peaceful islands with an abundance of fish. Mango and breadfruit are heavy on the trees. His excitement is beautiful and you cry for him and for yourself. He will go with Naia and the Denisovans.
[[Eneko says goodbye.]]
[[Bihotz visits Alasne.]]
<!--<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/FILENAME.mp3" autoplay>-->Eneko has often thought about the Denisovans. He now notices Naia, the daughter of Aroa and Izar, and remembers giving her a red and yellow necklace a long time ago. Naia still wears it! The paint has faded. They take walks together. Today they are going to an olive grove about a mile from Shanidar. They have brought cakes made of kanabisa leaves cooked in animal fat and mixed with dried fruit, honey and crushed grain. A rare treat. Naia and Eneko eat the fruit cakes and make love as a soft wind moves through the trees, each one learning from the other. Eneko cannot leave her and she cannot leave him. He will go with her.
[[Eneko says goodbye.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/EnekoandNaia.mp3" autoplay>The Denisovans Izar and Aroa are sleeping. The shaman Chesa visits them in their dreams. Chesa tells them to go to Shanidar. Chesa shows them an herb with leaves like stars. She says to take the herb to Shanidar. Izar and Aroa know this herb and its healing properites.
The Denisovans must visit Shanidar on their way to Sundaland and Sahul. Ibai the boat-builder must build a craft strong enough to cross the sea.
Naia, the daughter of Izar and Aroa, is grown. She gathers herbs, especially the plant with leaves like stars - kanabisa.
[[Rockfall.]]
[[Flower burial.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/FILENAME.mp3" autoplay>Aroa and Izar tell the Denisovans that it is time to go. They pack everything onto rafts and push themselves off the shore. They float down the river. In due time, they will go further south to Sundaland and to Sahul. Some will settle along the way and others will continue on to the sparkling islands in the middle of the great ocean.
[[The lake.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Denisovanssail.mp3" autoplay>Uda is trailing your small group. He sees two sets of prints. He finds a campsite where a fire has been recently covered over and the stones around it are disturbed. He knows that Neanders don't use stones around the campfire, so this is a Cro-Magnon campfire. The mammoth hunters.
[[Uda calls out.]]
[[Aritz arrives.]] Uda has a throbbing headache. He is not thinking clearly. He calls out to the mammoth hunters. Uda sits down and waits for them. He will reason with them. He calls out again. A hind rushes by in the woods.
The lion appears and tells Uda, "Follow me and I will lead you to food." Uda sips water. The lion leads him into the forest.
[[Uda discovers a hiding place.]]
[[Haizea enters the sanctuary.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Udacallsout.mp3" autoplay>The mammoth hunters are on their own. They have set up a tiny hidden campsite and have hunted small game. The lion leads Uda to the hiding place of the mammoth hunters. The lion shows his teeth and scares them away. They leave behind their provisions. Uda eats the remainder of the small animal still roasting on a fire. Uda's head hurts.
The mammoth hunter named Ion wanders alone in the woods. His anger has turned to remorse. He is lost. He sits down by a stream. He wants to go home.
[[Uda finds Oihana and Esti's campsite.]]
[[Uda sees only blackness.]]The people reach the lake and sail onward to the other side. They abandon their rafts and walk south. They walk through a mountain pass and reach a large fertile valley that sits between two rivers. You walk to the other side of a hill and you see the large Cave. It's mouth is open, high and wide. This is Shanidar!
People are crying out of happiness and exhaustion. Swallows dart above them in the clear sky. The dogs run and bark, sensing everyone's excitement as people unload the burdens they've been carrying for a year. They face the valley and give thanks.
[[Uda's ritual.]]
[[Gundi.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Shanidar.mp3" autoplay>Gentza has lost sight in one eye and can hear with only one ear. Oihana teases him about being twice as good with only half as much to work with. Gentza screws up his face and looks a little askance at Oihana. He laughs. But he knows he will be leaving soon and his spirit will journey to the place of the ancestors. Oihana reads his mind and says a silent goodbye.
Gentza slips away quietly in his sleep. Oihana waits until morning to tell you and Esti. You gather quartz crystals and beautifully crafted flint knives for Gentza's grave. Alasne and Oihana gather hollyhock and prepare red ochre powder for Gentza's body.
[[Into the Holocene.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Gentzagoodbye.mp3" autoplay>Rolling thunder is getting closer. Your group wades along a stream. There is a clearing up ahead. Suddenly there is a loud thundercrack and a bright streak of lighting. And then comes the rain.
You're on edge, nervous. You make a private decision to warn the cousins who live by the High Stone Arch about the Cro-Magnons and urge them to move south to Shanidar. But first you must go to Bruniquel, the place of the ancestors.
[[You find shelter.]]
[[Alasne and Xuxa awaken.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/lightningThunderRain.mp3" autoplay>Your group stays with the Eastern cousins through winter. Chesa has been talking about people from the far northeast. She says they are moving south and their paths will cross. Chesa says she will speak to them. They are friends.
[[Late winter.]]
[[Time to go.]]
[[Izar has a dream.]] <center><h1>Shanidar, Safe Return</h1></center>
<center>An interactive story by Cecilia Dougherty</center>
Eurasia, 40,000 years ago.
As the story begins, a band of Cro-Magnons have just invaded a nearby Neanderthal camp, falsely claiming that the Neanderthals (Neanders) were planning to steal meat, skins and ivory from the Cro-Magnon mammoth hunt. The Cro-Magnons (Magnons) visit the Neander camp with the intent of chasing them out of this rich valley. As they approach the camp with axes and knives, their rage gets the better of them and they end up murdering every Neanderthal in sight.
You, the reader, are a young Neanderthal woman named Haizea. You have escaped the massacre and are on the run with your son, Eneko, and your Magnon partner, Esti. Esti's best friend, Oihana, has come with you. Follow the story and meet the characters from the Deep Past by choosing links at the end of each story passage. Select more links, going both forwards and backwards, to reveal more of the story.
[[Haizea leads Eneko, Esti and Oihana through the forest.]]
[[Alasne and Xuxa awaken.]]
[[Uda returns to the Neanderthal camp.]]
[[Cast of characters]]
//Shanidar, Safe Return// is the sequel to the first Paleolithic tale in the series, <a href="https://paleolithic.ceciliadougherty.com" target="_blank">//Time Before Memory//</a>
Note: Best experienced on notebook, iPad, laptop and desktop. Not for mobile.Paio, the Cro-Magnon leader, awakens the drunken mammoth hunters. He tells them they no longer belong here. They are on their own. Paio knows that few people can survive alone. The mammoth hunters grab their weapons and the last skin of wine. They leave the camp in the dead of night.
[[Xuxa finds Oihana.]]
[[Uda has a dream.]]
<!--<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Paiobanishesmammothhunters.mp3" autoplay>-->Ralph S. Solecki, Kurdish Folk Songs and Dances by Kurds, Folkways Records (FE 4469)
The following are sound effects and samples from online sound libraries used in //Shanidar, Safe Return//. Thank you for making your work available to the community!
''Samples from Freesound.org''
''Animals & Insects''
digifishmusic-bees
acclivity-cicadasplus
bidone-lion & lions-two
gurkboll-dog-panting
dobroide-partridge
xenognosis-dog whining
paresh-wolves
reinsamba-2012-skylark
felixblume-dolphin-screaming-underwater-in-caribbean-sea-mexico
benmaessound-eagle-calls-outside-betweens-buildings
tom-woysky-roaring-deer-version-2-mating-season-in-poland-september
kaydinhamby-eagle-cry
spacejoe-sleeping-dog-2
gj55gb-lion
clearwavsound-insects-and-birds-in-field-day
strapparts-swallows
ambientsoundapp-seagulls-distant
invertedturtle-frogs-meadow
damsteegt-deerwalking
thefsb-puppy-playing-with-dog
trashcanstudios-001-dog-running-up-and-past-panting
trashcanstudios-004-dog-sniffing
messyacousticapocalypse666-ambience-1-crickets-at-night
raajalmai-black-partridge-sound
jkata-dogshakeshimselfandpanting
guanescape-perros-ladrando-barking-dogs
craigsmith-s28-16-eagle-squawks-calls
''Cave''
editor-adp-water-dripping-large-echo
klangkobold-water-cave
tosha73-water-drips-in-the-cave-hq
saltedmutton72-cave
secondbody-14
e0fd96-2022-03-31-strange-abyss
rikijik456-enter-a-cave
pushtobreak-earth4
zatar-earthquake3
ekvelika-earth-tectonic-movements
''Fire''
craftcrest-campfire-in-the-woods-front
jarredgibb-match-strike-and-light-01
bobv2-campfire-2-01
defaultv-campfire
ambient-x-campfire-deer-camp-adding-kindling-med-wind-part-4
fredbjammin-campfire-deer-camp-adding-kindling-med-wind-part-4
cagankaya-campfire-24-bit-44
''Forest & Footsteps''
samuelgremaud-walking-in-forest-4
hazure-chop
kangaroovindaloo-wind-in-pine-trees
klankbeeld-sterrenbos-forest-nl-short-170614-1192
baryy-summer-meadow
newlocknew-gladecricketstrees-noiseeqmsprcssng
zoom-0025-walking-on-dry-grass
klankbeeld-river-floodplain-nl-759pm-210626-0299
alex-hears-things-footsteps-on-dry-undergrowth-breaking-twigs
felix-blume-walking-among-tall-grass-distant-birdsongs-child-voice-and-distant-waterfall-sound
ForestForanceOwldelphinewil
rambersvillers-chouettehulottem-cerfs
''Human Activity''
sycoraxi-mango-skinning
ylearkisto-sorkkarauta-lautojen-purku-crowbar-demolishing-timber-boarding-creak-cracking-a-close-sound
ylearkisto-askeleet-vedessa-footsteps-wading-walking-in-the-water-puddle-slush
alexbuk-digging-2
cupido-1-hammer-sound
itsthegoodstuff-wet-grass
pasekam-rocks-hitting-other-rocks
''Human Vocalization''
walter-odington-you-twat
ariat-tdt
benboncan-ululating
sagetyrtle
urupin-crowd-laughter-xoxot
kimheadlee-young-female-child-laughing
splicesound-group-of-children-talking-murmur
vacekh-aaah
jayfrosting-murmur-1
topschool-laughter
fuchsrodolfo-expression-of-surprise
kyles-village-int-ext-women-and-kids-washing-uganda
craigsmith-r15-73-small-group-of-men-shouting
fsmitakovak-7-14-crying
gumballworld-baby-crying
kentspublicdomain-pain-part-1-groan-torture-suffering-despair-man-male
blancabartual-ambienceconversation
cell31-sound-productions-ambience-crowd-interior-walla
sergequadrado-child-crying
bmangelo-la-risa
ekiya-forest-deep-midnight
''Music''
mumagi-bells-mumagi
kerri-littleFLUTE-e-samplefile
kwazi-shaker-woda-conga-bongo-templeblock
tweeterdj-conga-rolls
zumbido-tun
inspiredfunk-bass-bongo-riddim
duendevision-bowl
ethang-kerriflute
nickgar-vibraphone6
vumseplutten1709-kalimba
franeknflute-xun-sample
emitex-flute
ABYSS-morphesus-abyss-abgrund
bigjoedrummer-congas-simple-groove-1
jarredgibb-rattle-drum
modularsamples-roland-jx-3p-drunk-cat-e2-0-0rp5
KatarinaRose-womb-affliction-flute
fallbackcrush-paul-stretch-flute
esares-120-bpm-drum-loop
klangraumwort-dr-ni-timpani-drums-klangraum-wort
phonosupf-vibraphone-sequence
phonosupf-flute-bass
phonosupf-flute-vibrato
skippie-ritual-metal-drum-skippiefleer
voxlab-positive-supersaw-cmin-pad-chord
kevp888-cd-plenitude
szegvari-drumjam-conga-solo-sample-ethno-music-drums
monahanmusic-flute-backing-track-ultra-chilled
''Sound Effects''
roofdog-conch
richardemoore-dino-stomp
sketchcompod-clacking
florianreichelt-soft-wind
thunder-sound-FX-Grant-Evans
''Water''
castleofsamples-rushing-river-in-the-woods
jillismolenaar-gentle-surf-rolling-on-sandy-beach-close-up
jackthemurray-stream-river-water-up-close
augustsandberg-kayaking-in-rough-weather
noted451-ocean-waves
reci77-rowing1
banasz-stream-katschberg-1
''Samples from Pixabay.com''
forest-with-small-river-birds-and-nature-field-recording-6735
mkh8020omniab
campfirewav-14488
lewes-kik-bangs-thuds-23136
menschenmenge-142716
jovica-20161229
abyss-62540
abyss-pad-32483
bullroarer-32861
didg-59467
didge-59102
flute-recorder-18816
flute-sunset-horizon-8527
native-drums2-144199Biddick75
[[Go back to the beginning->Eurasia, 40,000 years ago.]]
<audio src="https://shanidar.ceciliadougherty.com/audio/Additionalsound.mp3" autoplay>