IMO, the article does a good job of presenting Auel. She has done a lot of research and I'd classify her first two books as 'edutainment.' Archaeology & anthropology are as much (or more) what I would call an 'interpretive art' as they are real science. The first two books (as I recall--read them in the 80's) touch on a lot of things--language development, medicinal herbs, development of weapons, domestication of animals, social structure... Most, if not all, of what we think we know on those subjects, as per prehistoric man, is speculative in nature anyway. Bottom line is that the story is fiction but the details are what I'd call (mostly) 'informed opinion.'
Aside from that, the books beyond the first two, are a waste of time.
Thanks for the 'review'. I don't mind reading this kind of novel as long as it doesn't stray too much from the plausible. BTW, these kinds of stories have a limited "shelf-life" since a few new discoveries can invalidate a major portion of the storyline. IE. if geneticists conclude that interbreeding between Neanderthals & Cro Magnon's was not possible.