| A | B |
| literary device | A method an author uses to enrich their writing and keep the reader interested |
| Coming of age | When someone learns and is forever changed by a life experience |
| foreshadowing | To suggest or indicate beforehand something to come in a story |
| symbolism | When an idea is represented by an object |
| show, not tell | When an author illustrates a plot point in their writing instead of describinng what happened |
| Jenu | A shaman, or spiritual leader |
| Bowan | A skillful Cro-Magnon boy who is self-confident at the beginning of the story |
| Mora | A wise and widely respected clan elder |
| Kenok | A stern yet respected Cro-Magnon hunter, who "comes of age" at the end of the story |
| Dar | A Cro-Magnon boy who becomes a man after many adventures |
| Toreg | A strange man Dar meets in the Pine Forest from another clan, who Dar makes a trade with |
| Seelan | Dar's great-uncle who became a respected carver in another clan after becoming injured |
| firerocks | A piece of flint and sunstone used to start fires |
| sunstone | A dull yellow rock used along with a piece of flint to start fires |
| healing plants | A plant with purple flowers used to heal various ailments |
| dagger-tooth cat | A type of large cat with two large front teeth |
| spear-thrower | a tool that used leverage to hurl spears great distances |
| atlatl | another name for a spear-thrower |
| manmark | a clan’s mark of manhood given at an initiation ceremony |
| shaman | a spiritual leader |
| downy | soft; velvety |
| acrid | A strong, irritating smell |
| emblem | a symbol used as an identifying mark |
| marmot | a burrowing rodent related to a squirrel |
| lemming | a northern European rodent |
| tuber | a fleshy root |
| contempt | disapproval |
| tunic | a long, knee-length skirt |
| marrow | the substance inside a bone |
| salve | a healing ointment |
| mangy | shabby; scruffy |
| burden | load; items weighing one down |
| curtly | briefly; abruptly |
| gruel | an oatmeal-like meal |
| iridecent | sparkling; glimmering |
| famished | very hungry; starved |
| lulling | to cause to relax or sleep |
| forage | to look for; scavenge |
| carcass | dead body; remains |
| buoyant | floating; afloat |
| apprehension | fear; uneasiness |
| writhing | to twist and turn this way and that |
| awed | impressed |
| hearth | fireplace |
| dismay | shocked disappointment |
| beveled | to cut or shape an edge |
| awl | a pointed tool for making holes |
| bore | to make a hole |
| sympathy | understanding; compassion |
| lope | rush; sprint |
| bellow | a deep, loud roar |
| bleating | to cry like a sheep or a goat |
| tranquil | calm; peaceful |
| resolute | firm; determined |
| gored | pierced or wounded with something pointed |
| craggy | rocky; stony |
| embers | coals; cinders |
| gait | walk, or way of walking |