Thallers E-Book

alastair macleod

• Herausgeber: BookRix
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

Der leads a little band of Neanderthals facing the challenges of a tough climate and fierce predators; when they collide with a different band of hominids, modern humans, how do they interact? Today we know from genetics there was some interbreeding but why then did Neanderthals die out? Recent evidence suggests a darker violent past for our species. 

Leseprobe

Alastair Macleod

Thallers

To the anthropologistsBookRix GmbH & Co. KG81371 Munich

Thallers

Little bands of Neanderthals and modern humans both faced the challenges of a tough climate and fierce predators. When their bands collided how did they interact? Today we know from genetics there was some interbreeding but why then did Neanderthals die out? Recent evidence suggests a darker violent past for our species.

Away to the horizon stretched the grassland, rippling and undulating in the wind. Der pointed; the rest looked, yes, there was a musk ox, its dark back just showing above the stalks. If there was one there must be others. They set off, four hunters, Der in the lead, their thick spears at the ready. Keeping low their furs camouflaged their squat swarthy bodies. They must make this kill or their small band would die of starvation.

It had been a lean summer. Something was going wrong with the climate. It was colder, the herds had disappeared, perhaps they had gone south. The shamaness had said a great hunger was coming; she had retreated into the picture cave to chant and make offerings. She had blessed this hunt but the men had been out for many days getting further and further away from the Black River encampment.

After a while the women had set off to search for tubers, nuts, berries anything to quench the knawing bellies of the band. They had left the teenagers at the camp with the younger children, sustained by only water.

The thick frontal bones and pointed faces of the men marked them out as Neanderthals, tough, adapted to the cold in the sub glacial steppe. Persistence hunters who ran down their quarry then killed at close quarters.

The musk ox raised its head sniffed the air and was off. Soon others hidden by the tall grasses could also be seen running and bunching together, their pungent scent filling the breeze. As Der knew they would, they stopped and wheeled into a circle presenting their horns. In the centre of their circle, the calves and females sheltered behind the bulls.

Der selected one, a younger female, late to enter the massed ranks and guided his band after her, off into the steppe. They would follow her now until burdened by her thick coat and overheating she would collapse.

That day on the steppe the Urt clan, also suffering from famine, had strayed way out of their normal range. These were taller men, Homo sapiens, by the Thallers named Numen, walking upright moving with a light running gait and they carried spear throwers. They had less need to get close but could spear a buck from a greater distance not risking injury at close quarters.

They could smell the Neanderthals on the wind.

“Thallers,” said Gok, his nose wrinkling in disgust, “hunting near here.”

He turned his band away in the opposite direction; no need for direct conflict especially as they were so weak from hunger.

They travelled down into a broad valley. Sometimes there was small game, rodents, birds like quail and wild pig in these sorts of valleys, the game hiding in the low shrubs. He halted his band and took out his fire sticks.