"90,000 Years BC" by Sergei Kondulukov, summary

Sergei Kondulukov’s (Yazev-Kondulukov’s) novella is a fictional reconstruction of the life of a Neanderthal tribe during the Paleolithic era. Set ninety thousand years BC, the work describes the ancient people’s harsh struggle with the elements, predators, and hunger. The author focuses on the development of human society, where the instincts of self-preservation intertwine with the nascent feelings of affection, duty, and responsibility of a leader for his or her clan.

Escape from Dancing Mountain

A tribe led by the mighty chieftain Nam-Ur lives on the banks of the Great River, rich in fish. Their camp is marred by the proximity of "Dancing Mountain," a volcano that periodically erupts. Despite the chieftain’s concerns, the tribe remains, trusting the assurances of the fat sorcerer Pru, who promises to appease the spirits with sacrifices. However, during the spring fishing season, when Nam-Ur and his fellow tribesmen, Bru and Kruk, catch a huge beluga, a catastrophic eruption occurs.

A giant boulder breaks off from the mountain, blocking the riverbed and causing a sudden flood. The water destroys the camp. Bru perishes in the raging torrent, and Nam-Ur is saved only by the help of Kruk, who, despite suffering a severe arm injury, pulls the chieftain to shore. The flood is followed by a rockfall and a forest fire. Nam-Ur decides to lead the survivors to the steppe, away from the cursed place, despite the protests of the sorcerer and the master Tlum, who refuses to abandon his stonework.

Trials in the steppe

The trek across the sun-scorched steppe proves difficult. The people suffer from hunger, subsisting only on small rodents and carrion. At night, a pack of wolves approaches the camp. A mature she-wolf manages to kidnap five-year-old Lee, the daughter of the hunter Bloom and his wife, Kru. Bloom gives chase but is too late to save the child.

Consumed by grief and a thirst for revenge, Bloom, along with Nam-Ur and other hunters, tracks down the predator’s lair. They find a shell amulet belonging to the girl, confirming their terrifying suspicion. The hunters trap the she-wolf in its den and, using a sharpened aspen trunk as a battering ram, kill the beast. In a fit of rage, Bloom also destroys the wolf cubs, but this does not bring back his daughter. He brings the she-wolf’s pelt to the tribe, but the parents’ grief is inconsolable.

The famine intensifies. Nam-Ur spots horses in the steppe and organizes a driven hunt. The tribe sets fire to the dry grass, driving the herd toward a cliff and a swamp. The plan works: many animals die, falling into a ravine or drowning in the quagmire. However, retrieving the meat from the bottom of the ravine is fraught with risk. The young hunter Ka falls to his death from a cliff. He is replaced by the giant Varr, a descendant of another tribe, who drags the carcasses back to the surface until exhaustion.

At night, while the tired people sleep, wolves attack the meat supplies. The sentries, Krav and Thu, engage in an unequal battle. Thu dies, and the pack consumes almost all the prey. In the morning, the sorcerer Pru demands Krav’s exile, blaming him for the loss of food. Nam-Ur intervenes, reminding them of the sorcerer’s false promises about safety by the river. The burly Brag, a contender for the leader, enters the conflict. In a brutal duel on the edge of a cliff, Nam-Ur cunningly defeats his stronger opponent, throwing Brag over the edge and asserting his power.

Wintering in a cave

As the cold weather sets in, the tribe retreats to the mountains in search of shelter. While gathering pine nuts, a lynx kills the hunter Vrook. Soon, a forest fire caused by lightning drives the tribe forward again. Finally, they find a spacious cave, but it is occupied by a bear and wolves. The exhausted tribesmen engage in a desperate fight and reclaim their shelter, blocking the entrance with rocks.

Winter brings terrible famine and disease. People die one after another. Old Phu, driven mad by hunger, kills old Kmu’s son and commits cannibalism. Nam-Ur uncovers the crime. Phu is driven out of the cave, where he falls prey to a bear lying in wait outside. Later, the bear engages in a fight with a woolly rhinoceros and is killed by its horn.

Nam-Ur, realizing the tribe is doomed without food, decides to take a desperate step. Together with Varr, he sets out in search of prey in a blizzard. Varr dies of cold. Nam-Ur finds an elk and kills it, but on the way back, dragging the heavy carcass across the river, his back is bloodied and he loses his last strength. Bloom finds the chieftain half-dead. The meat they recover saves the tribe from extinction.

Spring and new troubles

With the arrival of warmer weather, life improves. Hunters hunt elk and wild boar and find wild honey. However, the peace is short-lived. During the night, a powerful earthquake occurs. The cave’s roof begins to collapse. Nam-Ur is crushed beneath a huge boulder, and only through the combined efforts of the men are they able to free him. The earth opens up, forming fissures filled with boiling lava. During the escape, Bloom’s wife, Kru, dies, unable to leap across the chasm.

People and mammoths

The tribe migrates to the cold steppe, home to mammoths and rhinoceroses. At first, the people are afraid of the giants, but Nam-Ur soon realizes they can be hunted. Using fire and noise, the hunters drive the mammoths into swamps, where the heavy animals become bogged down and easy prey.

This changes the tribe’s life. They build a huge hut from mammoth bones and hides, providing themselves with reliable shelter from the winter winds. Meat is now plentiful, and the bones are used as fuel for the fire. Bloom finds a new wife, Clo, although he continues to mourn the deceased Kru.

Success makes Nam-Ur overconfident. He stops seeing mammoths as formidable opponents, calling them "big pigs." During another hunt in the steppe, when the men try to chase a lone mammoth with fire, the beast suddenly turns and runs straight at the hunters through the burning grass. Protecting the retreating hunters, Nam-Ur and Bloom attack the giant. They manage to mortally wound the beast with their spears, but in its death throes, the mammoth impales Nam-Ur with its tusks.

The chief dies in the arms of his tribesmen, passing on the burden of leadership to his growing son, Ulla. The tribe buries Nam-Ur in the center of the hut, paying him their final respects. Life goes on, and the ancient people continue their journey through the ages. "As a result of the eternal cycle of nature on Earth, in 50,000 years another species of human will emerge — Homo sapiens, who will carry the torch of reason further, through the depths of time."