by Jo Sandhu
‘Then you are Tarin of Mammoth Clan. I thought you dead. I thought you to be a Spirit!’
‘Kai?’ Tarin stared at the young man in surprise. It had been close on three years since they had seen each other. When Kai first left Mammoth Clan, he had been a boy. In three years, he had grown into a man.
Kai turned to the other men. ‘Tarin is my kin. We must welcome them to Musk Ox Clan.’
The tallest stepped forward and raised his hands in greeting. ‘We welcome you, Tarin of Mammoth Clan and of Wolf Clan, and expect many interesting stories from you.’ Then he clapped Tarin on the back in the way his father used to. Tarin felt the last vestige of fear drop away.
The Musk Ox men then greeted Kaija and Luuka, and bravely presented their hands to the wolves for sniffing. Utu hissed and spat, but condescended to peck a strip of dried meat he was presented with.
‘Come and share our meal,’ Kai said. ‘And then we will hear your tale.’ His eyes turned thoughtful.
‘I think you will have many surprises for us, Tarin of the Wolves.’
30,000 years ago, toward the end of the last Ice Age, modern man was spreading across Europe and Eurasia, and the Neanderthals had all but died out. The Esi are, of course, based on the Neanderthals and Worj’s Clan is one of the last remaining clans living so far north. The Neanderthals have often been thought of as savage and lacking intelligence, but here are some interesting facts I learned about them while researching:
+Their brains were actually larger than ours are today and they were very strong.
+They didn’t just make grunting sounds – they could speak! Scientists have studied the shape of the bones in their throats and determined they had forceful, high-pitched voices and they had trouble with hard consonant sounds. This is why Worj’s Clan can’t say ‘Tarin’ and ‘Kaija’ and ‘Luuka’ very well.
+Their tools included well-crafted spears, sharpened stones, rope made from twisted fur and hair, and they made glue from boiling birch bark.
+They organised their caves into areas for sleeping, cooking, making tools and socialising.
+They cared for each other and were sad when someone they loved died. How do we know this? Fossils have been found of an elderly man with no teeth, half an arm and bad arthritis. He would never have survived without the help of his clan. Evidence of elaborate burials has also shown that Neanderthals often buried their dead with flowers and ceremonial bones and furs.
+They ate a wide variety of animals and plants and everyone, including women, helped to hunt.
+New studies suggest some of the earliest cave paintings were made by Neanderthals, and they played music. The oldest musical instrument in the world is a bone flute discovered in Slovenia. It is made out of the femur of a cave bear.
+Neanderthals were once thought to have lived only in Europe, but archaeological digs have discovered fossils above the Arctic Circle in Russia.
+They used herbs for medicine. Scientists have found traces of yarrow and chamomile in Neanderthal teeth.
+They hunted prey at close quarters and were often injured during the hunt.
Find out more at www.josandhu.com
Growing up, Jo Sandhu was sure she was going to be a Shakespearean actress or a pianist, and gained her Associate Diploma in Speech and Drama. However, a year in Finland as a Rotary Exchange Student cemented her passion in Ancient History and was the inspiration for Tarin’s story.
These days Jo is a writer, a personal carer, and volunteers at her sons’ sporting clubs. Her short stories have been highly commended in numerous competitions, including the FAW Mary Grant Bruce Award for Children’s Literature, and the CYA Competition (Brisbane) in both the Children’s and YA sections. She is a member of Queensland Writers Centre and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
Jo currently lives in the Tweed Valley in Northern NSW with her family, and enjoys cooking, travelling and reading.
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First published by Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd, 2017
Text copyright © Jo Sandhu, 2017
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
Cover and text design by Bruno Herfst © Penguin Random House Australia Pty Ltd
Cover illustration © Kim Van Deun, 2017
www.penguin.com.au
ISBN: 978-1-760-14315-2
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