Caprona (island)

Caprona (also known as Caspak) is a fictional island in the literary universe of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Caspak Trilogy, including The Land That Time Forgot, The People That Time Forgot, and Out of Time's Abyss.[1] They were published as serial novels in 1918, and collected in book form in 1924.

Caprona
The Land That Time Forgot location
Original map of Caprona, drawn by Burroughs (1917)
Created byEdgar Rice Burroughs
GenreLost World
In-universe information
TypeFictional island
Race(s)Band-Lu
Bo-Lu
Galu
Sto-Lu
Weiroo
CharactersBowen J. Tyler, Lys La Rue

The island

In the first novel, Caprona is described as a land mass near Antarctica and was first reported by the (fictitious) Italian explorer Caproni in 1721, the location of which was subsequently lost. The island is ringed by high cliffs, making it inaccessible to all but the most intrepid explorers. (The people who first explore the island access it by taking a submarine through a tunnel.)[2] It has a tropical river teeming with primitive creatures extinct elsewhere and a thermal inland sea, essentially a huge crater lake, whose heat sustains Caprona's tropical climate.

Burroughs postulates a unique biological system for his lost world, in which the slow progress of evolution in the world outside is recapitulated as a matter of individual metamorphosis. This system is only hinted at in The Land That Time Forgot; presented as a mystery whose explication is gradually worked out over the course of the next two novels, it forms a thematic element serving to unite three otherwise rather loosely linked stories. Dinosaurs, prehistoric mammals, and primitive humans coexist on the island.[3]

The island is also called "Caspak" by its native humanoid inhabitants – thus the name of the trilogy.[4]

Zoogeographic zones

Unlike Pellucidar which is actually a huge melting pot of earth's various ages where all types of ancient fauna and flora intermix, the fauna and flora of Caprona is organized into different zoogeographic zones where fauna from the different respective ages are confined.

Caprona wildlife

Various prehistoric creatures reside on Caprona.

Among the prehistoric creatures are:

Caprona's tribes

Caprona is home to various tribes. Virtually all of them are different types of human that actually existed during the earth's past from upright walking apes to advances species like Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons.

The following tribes are found on Caprona:

  • Ho-lu – A tribe of apes with the ability to "walk upright" (resembling the real-life Australopithecus afarensis).
  • Bo-Lu – A tribe of Neanderthals whose name means "Club Men" because they wield clubs.
  • Band-Lu – A tribe of Cro-Magnons whose name means "Spear Men".
  • Sto-Lu – A tribe of missing links whose name means "Hatchet Men".
  • Kro-Lu - A tribe of humans whose name means "Bow Men" because they are good archers. They can domesticate cows and goats. In addition, they can domesticate wolf-like dogs to guard their livestock.
  • Galu – A tribe of educated humans whose name means "Rope Men". They are experts at cloth-weaving and have been shown to domesticate horses.
  • Weiroo – A tribe of winged humans. Because there are mostly male Weiroo, they often abduct female Galu for breeding purposes.

In other media

Films

Caprona is featured in several films:

Literature

See also

References
  1. "THE CASPAK NOVELS". Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  2. Westfahl, Gary (2005). The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Themes ..., Volume 2. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 476. ISBN 9780313329524.
  3. Valdron, Den. "THE MYSTERY OF CAPRONA". ERBzine. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  4. David Bruce Bozarth. "CASPAK GLOSSARY". Retrieved 25 July 2014.
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