TEACHER'S GUIDE FOR DAR AND THE SPEAR-THROWER
A coming of age story set in the Stone Age
by MARJORIE COWLEY

HOW CAN THIS TEACHER'S GUIDE HELP YOU?:

All people, ancient and modern, must face the task of providing food, shelter, and security for themselves and their communities. How we go about accomplishing this is dependent upon local resources, the level of technology, and cultural traditions.

In addition, if a community is to flourish, all groups must find ways to solve conflicts and encourage both group unity and individual resourcefulness. These human goals and the problems faced in trying to meet them should be kept in mind as you go through this Teacher's Guide.

STORY OUTLINE:

Dar will soon receive his manmarks at his clan's initiation ceremony. Small for his age, he is not sure he has the strength, courage, or skill to take his place as a hunter. While checking traps at the edge of his clan's territory, Dar meets a forbidding stranger. The man wants Dar's sunstone, a rare mineral used by Dar's clan to start campfires. In return, the stranger offers Dar his spear-thrower, a powerful hurling device unknown to Dar's people. Dar refuses the trade but later regrets his decision.After his initiation, he leaves his clan to search for the stranger and his spear-thrower, and Dar's understanding of what it means to be a man deepens as he pursues his quest. When Dar returns to his clan, he brings back not only the spear-thrower, but new skills, a stronger sense of purpose, and a deeper kinship with his family.

PREHISTORIC BACKGROUND:

The word prehistory refers to all that occurred before the invention of writing, which represents the beginning of recorded history. A comparatively recent invention, writing first appeared in Mesopotamia about 5,000 years ago. The setting and details of the book are based on research of the Magdalenian culture that flourished in western Europe around fifteen thousand years ago. These late Stone Age people left behind many beautiful carvings in bone, antler, and ivory, including flutes, harpoons, needles, and spear-throwers. These artifacts, as well as the magnificent paintings found in France and Spain, have all been interwoven in the novel. Scientists can tell from fossil evidence that these Cro-Magnon people had brains that were as large and complex as our own. In addition, the premise of the book is that Dar and his people experienced the same full range of human emotions that we do today, such as pride, envy, grief, anger, and joy. Dar and the Spear-Thrower is a story that immerses students in our shared prehistoric past--the hunting-gathering life that was lived by humans for most of our time on earth.

CHAPTER 1: THE MORNING FIRE

Q: When Kenok joins Dar at the morning fire, it is clear that he is displeased with his nephew. Why?
A: He thinks Dar is shirking his responsibility to become a skilled flint worker, a necessity for making the tools and weapons a hunter needs. In addition, Kenok feels that Dar's interest in carving is a waste of time.

Q: What is Dar's attitude toward Kenok?
A: He feels overpowered by his uncle.

Q: Does Dar look forward to his initiation ceremony?
A: No, it frightens him; Dar is also uncertain of his abilities to take his place in the clan as a competent hunter. But once initiated, he looks forward to being free of Kenok's control over him.

Q: Have you ever resented being in someone's control who is older than you?

Q: Have you ever been nervous as you approached an important event?

Q: Have you ever felt inadequate in mastering something you are expected to know?

CHAPTER 2: SPIRIT CAT

Q: What important function does the morning fire play in the life of the clan?
A: The fire brings people together to enjoy its warmth, cook and eat the morning meal, and plan the day.

Q: Does your family have any regular activities that bring you all together?

Q: Does your community (or church, school, club, etc.) have activities that bring you and other people together on a regular basis?

Q: What special contributions does Mora, Dar's grandmother, bring to the well-being of her clan?
A: Her long experience and good memory enable her to pass on useful information to her group; her knowledge of plant resources and their location makes her the natural leader of the gathering-walks.

Q: All members of Dar's clan--men, women, and children--play a role in securing the food and other necessities that are shared by everyone. How do we obtain our food today?

Q: We don't live in clans or tightly knit groups now, but do you contribute anything to the well-being of your family?
A: Baby-sitting, helping to prepare food, taking out the trash, or cleaning up after a meal?

Q: Why does Kenok think he failed the "test of the spirit creature"?
A: He could neither save his brother's life nor kill the strange animal.

CHAPTER 3: THE ROCKY LEDGE

Q: Name some of the foods looked for on the gathering-walk.
A: Tubers and roots, grassy herbs, onions, mushrooms, eggs, small animals, berries.

Many doctors think this diet was healthier than the one most of us eat today. What do you think?

Q: Generally, are we as active as the people who lived in Dar's time? If not, do you think this could affect our health?

Q: How does Dar feel about climbing the cliff to get the healing plant?
A: As his grandmother knows, Dar is frightened of heights; he is angry at her for choosing him to go up the cliff instead of Bowan.

Q: What will determine the length of time that Dar and his people will stay in their campsite?
A: They will remain until the plants and animals in their area diminish to the point where survival is threatened; then they'll move and set up another camp in an area that offers more resources.

CHAPTER 4: HEALING PLANTS

Q: Kenok is injured in a hunting accident. Imagine yourselves without doctors, hospitals, or drugstores. How would you go about trying to obtain the help needed by the sick and the injured?
A: You would probably turn to someone with healing skills that have been based on years of trial-and-error experimentation.

Throughout human history, shamans have played an important role in their communities. Often these spiritual leaders are healers, musicians, and artists. Of equal importance, they help hold their groups together by telling or acting out its legends and stories, by being an intermediary between their society and the spiritual world, and by officiating at ceremonies.
Q: Is there someone in your community who plays a similar role?
A: Priest, minister, rabbi, etc.

Q: What role does Jenu, the clan's shaman, play in Kenok's injury?
A: Through chanting and drumming, he seeks to minimize the anxieties of Kenok and the clan by calling on the spirit world for help.

CHAPTER 5: CHECKING SNARES

Q: What are some of the things, other than food, that animals supply to the clan?
A: Fur for warm clothing and robes; skins for clothes, pouches, and tents; sinew or tendons for thongs and belts; fat for lamp fuel; horn, tusk, and antler to make tools, weapons, sculpture, and jewelry.

Q: The point is, every part of an animal is used. Are we as careful with our own man-made resources or do we often waste or discard them?
A: We throw away used plastic containers, outgrown or damaged toys, television sets that no longer work, etc.

CHAPTER 6: THE STRANGER

If a band of hunter-gatherers breaks up (perhaps for reasons of inadequate food or problems within the group), the language of each isolated group will gradually change if enough time passes. When Dar and the stranger meet in the pine forest, they are immediately apprehensive of each other, and their tension is increased by their inability to communicate.
Q: What do you think you would do if you met a stranger who is dressed differently than you and does not speak your language?

Q: Would you ask him if he needs help? Act tough? Act non-threatening? Avoid him? Do you have any other ideas?

Q: Dar knows he is outmatched by the stranger. What does he do to avoid a potential confrontation?
A: Dar holds his spear in his left hand, point down; he offers to share his food with the man.

Q: Do you think conflicts often come about through misunderstandings?

Q: Have you ever tried to decrease the tension in a difficult situation? How did you do it? Was your effort successful?

CHAPTER 7: BEGINNINGS

Communities must decide when to resist change in order to keep the group united and stable, and when to adopt new ideas in order to be more successful. Some people, like Kenok, resist new ideas, but Dar is open to them. For example, he immediately grasps the importance of the spear-thrower.
Q: Think of some examples of how people today incorporate new ideas into their lives.
A: The acceptance of different foods, music, and, sports; the introduction of borrowed technologies and inventions; interest in new political or social ideas.

Q: Think of a new idea or invention that you have incorporated into your own life recently.
A: Perhaps you've decided to become an archaeologist or you've started to learn how to use a computer.

CHAPTER 8: INTRUDER

Q: What do you think is the meaning or purpose of an initiation ceremony?
A: The integration of young people into the life of the adult community.

Q: Can you think of some tests, events, or ceremonies that perform this function today.
A: Confirmation, bar mitzvah, passing a driver's license test, high school or college graduation, your first job, voting for the first time, getting married, etc.)

Q: What do you think are some of the important differences between being a boy and a man in the book?
A: Boys participate in the gathering-walks, they are look-outs in the search for animals, and they are expected to learn how to make flint tools. Men make tools, hunt, and share responsibility for the well-being of their families and the clan.

Q: What do you think are the important differences between being a child and an adult (both sexes) in the lives that we live today?

Q: Do you feel that there are advantages to being a child? To being an adult? Are there any disadvantages?

CHAPTER 9: DARK OF THE MOON

Q: Initiation ceremonies throughout the world often demand that the initiates experience some pain or deprivation. What do Dar and Bowan undergo in order to be initiated?
A: They have to enter a dark and mysterious cave; they suffer pain on receiving their manmarks; to symbolize their rebirth as men, they must go without food until the crescent moon returns to the sky.

Q: What do you think is the purpose of such trials?
A: To prove their maturity, the initiate must demonstrate an ability to endure hardship without complaint.

Q: Why might this behavior be important to the community?
A: It must rely on their self-control and bravery.

Q: Do you think this demonstration of courage is important to the young person going through an initiation ceremony?
A: He must have the confidence to rely on himself in difficult situations.

CHAPTER 10: THE SACRED CAVE

Q: All communities create and participate in ceremonies for a great variety of reasons. Name some of our ceremonies, both public and private.
A: Graduations, birthday parties, weddings, funerals, presidential inaugurations, Thanksgiving, etc.

Q: What do you think is the purpose of this very human behavior?
A: Ceremonies bind a community together in an expression of shared values and emotions. For example, we come together to celebrate an event or a person, to grieve, to remember something important, to pray, to give thanks, to present an award, etc.

Q: What could be the point of holding a ceremony in a mysterious painted cave?
A: At first, to frighten and disorient the young people; to impress upon them the power and sacredness of the ceremony; to leave a lasting impression of its importance in the minds of the initiates; to link them with the shaman, the adult men of the clan, and the entire community.

People have long been fascinated by the paintings found in Lascaux and the other 150 uninhabited caves that have been discovered in France and Spain. Prehistoric archaeologists disagree about the purpose and meaning of cave art.
Q: Why do you think these paintings were created?
A: Perhaps to bring the animal and human worlds together; perhaps to pay tribute to the animals that Stone Age people lived among and depended upon; perhaps to illustrate important myths, legends, or religious beliefs.

CHAPTER 11: PREPARATIONS

Q: Why does Dar decide to leave his clan to find the stranger?
A: Dar regrets refusing the trade the stranger suggested; he is convinced that the spear-thrower will compensate for his small size and make him a great hunter; now that he has been initiated, he no longer needs Kenok's permission to leave, although Dar is not brave enough to tell his uncle of his plan.

CHAPTER 12 & 13: THE JOURNEY BEGINGS

Q: Have you ever been alone and far away from home? Dar is walking in unknown territory toward a clan that he's not sure is friendly. In addition, he questions his own skills in surviving on his own.

Q: Do you think Dar demonstrates a capacity to learn from his experiences?
A: He keeps track of time and direction; he learns its not wise to kill large animals; he keeps a fire going all night or, when he cannot, he sleeps in a tree; when he falls through the ice on Bone Lake, Dar successfully fights his panic.

Q: What does Dar do that helps him survive his accident on Bone Lake?
A: Dar immediately gets out of the chilling wind; he builds a fire and a windbreak; he sleeps between piles of dry leaves next to a boulder that holds the heat of the sun; in spite of the condition he is in, he makes himself get up during the night to keep his fire going.

CHAPTER 14: ARRIVAL

Q: What does Dar observe in the stranger's camp that is not only different but actually superior to the way things are done in his own clan?
A: They clean their skins on an upright frame instead of on the ground; they catch salmon in fish traps made of rocks; they mark their territory with their clan symbol; they use bone, antler, and ivory for weapons and jewelry.

Q: Almost all animals have some means of establishing their territoriality; human societies do this as well. What are some positive results of this behavior?
A: Conflicts may be prevented if every one is sure of established geographic boundaries.

Q: What are some of the problems of territoriality?
A: Because of greed for the land and resources of other people, conflict and loss of life and property may occur.

CHAPTER 15: THE TRADE

Q: Do you think Dar made the right decision to trade his sunstone for the spear-thrower? What does he give up?
A: The sunstone was a precious legacy from his grandfather.

Q: What does he gain?
A: A new and remarkable invention, unknown to his people.

Q: When Seelan comments on the trade, he says, "Ivory for fire...both things of great value." What does he mean?
A: Being able to light a fire quickly and easily with a sunstone is a survival asset; ivory is a rare, beautiful, and useful material.

Q: At first, what is Dar's attitude about learning to use the spear-thrower?
A: He is convinced that he will master it immediately because he thought he had closely watched Toreg's demonstration in the pine forest.

CHAPTER 16: THE SPEAR-THROWER

Q: In trying to become skillful in the use of the spear-thrower, what does Dar learn about the device?
A: He finds that it's not magical but functions as an extension of his arm, allowing his spear to travel to its target with increased speed, distance, and power. Dar also discovers that it takes dedicated practice to master the spear-thrower.

Q: Sometimes an invention new to us does seem almost magical, especially if we do not know why or how it works. We pride ourselves in living in a technologically advanced society, but do most of us really understand the engineering principles of a space satellite, television, or a computer?
A: In most societies, only a few people make significant discoveries or inventions. Then everyone makes use of them.

CHAPTER 17: THE DAGGER-TOOTH CAT

Q: What does Dar discover about the advantages of living in a tent instead of a cave?
A: A tent is not as attractive to cave-dwelling animals, such as wolves and bears. While people sleep, a fire must be maintained in a cave during the night as a protection from animals.

Q: What does Dar learn from Seelan about returning to his clan with the spear-thrower?
A: Dar must accept the knowledge that every hunter will want one when its superiority to a spear used without a spear-thrower becomes apparent; Dar also realizes that he can make an important contribution to his clan by learning how to make spear-throwers.

CHAPTER 18: BONE, ANTLER, AND IVORY

Q: Why does Dar have a change of heart about Bowan?
A: With Seelan's help, Dar acknowledges that he's been jealous of Bowan; he thinks it's possible that Bowan may not look down on him; he remembers that he felt only sympathy, not superiority, when Bowan demonstrated his own fears on entering the sacred cave for the initiation ceremony.

Q: Do you think it would benefit the clan if Dar and Bowan were able to live together in friendship and a spirit of cooperation?
A: Envy and scorn can divide a small group bound by mutual dependency.

Q: How would Dar's life change if he and Bowan were friends?
A: Dar would be less lonely.

CHAPTER 19: CIRCLE OF HORNS

Q: Why do you think Dar is able to learn quickly and easily from Seelan but not from Kenok?
A: Seelan encourages Dar as he teaches him, which allows Dar to easily accept his instruction; the little understood tension between Dar and Kenok made teaching and learning difficult and stressful for both people.

Q: Why did the musk oxen's instinctive "circle of horns" survival strategy fail with hunters using spears and spear-throwers?
A: Hunters can throw their weapons from a distance and protect themselves from the horns and hooves of the musk oxen. Animal predators, such as wolves and lions, must get close to their prey to attack and thus face greater physical risks.

Q: Name some other weapons invented after the spear-thrower that increased the distance and safety of the hunter or combatant?
A: Bow and arrows, cannons, guns, dynamite, explosives dropped from airplanes, missiles, land mines, etc.

CHAPTER 20: AN INVITATION

Q: Dar almost decides to stay with Seelan's clan, but he has a dream that makes him change his mind. What was the message of the dream?
A: At their initiation ceremony, the shaman told Dar and Bowan that they would come into their manhood to serve the clan and not themselves.

Q: What do you think of the shaman's message?

Q: Do you believe adults have a responsibility to their community? Do you think you do?

Q: What are some things that can help a group grow and prosper?
What happens to a community when responsible commitment and action is absent or weak?

Q: What do you think Dar learns from Seelan?
A: That the initiation ceremony is only a signal that he is ready to begin to earn his manhood; that he has made a wise decision to return home; that he has the capacity to continue to learn to carve on his own.

CHAPTER 21: IN THE PINE FOREST

Q: What happens between Dar and Kenok in the pine forest that allows their relationship to change?
A: Dar acknowledges the responsible role that Kenok has played in his life as well as understanding his uncle's suffering over the death of his brother; Kenok appreciates Dar's interest in carving as well as his skill with the spear-thrower. Because they have recognized each other's problems and contributions, they can now begin to give each other understanding and support.

CHAPTER 22: THE CHALLENGE

Q: What does Dar decide to do with the healing plant he unexpectedly finds?
A: He pulls up the entire plant to take back to his campsite in the hope that it will take root there. Dar's idea of replanting represents the beginnings of horticulture that will begin to flourish some 5,000 years after Dar's time.

Q: What do you think Dar finds out about adulthood?
A: That it's a process, not something that happens all at once; he begins to develop a new, caring relationship with his family, friends, and clan; he is committed to a skill, carving, that will bring him pleasure and benefit his clan; he will perform the other duties expected of an adult male.

AFTERWORD:

Q: Name some animals mentioned in the book that are now extinct or no longer found in western Europe.
A: The saber-toothed cat, the woolly mammoth, and the woolly rhinoceros are now extinct. Wild horse, lion, bison, and musk ox no longer live in western Europe.

Q: People in Dar's time discovered that when a "sunstone" is struck with flint, sparks hot enough to start a fire are produced. What is this precious rock?
A: Iron pyrite, a hard-to-find mineral; it's also known as "fool's gold."