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For their item selling counterparts, see: Caveman Shopkeeper (2) Cavemen are an enemy in Spelunky 2.

They are relatively common, enemy found in Dwelling, Jungle, Volcana, Ice Caves, and in Neo Babylon pens.

Occasionally, Cavemen can be found encased in ice tiles in Ice Caves or their corpses can be found in backlayers, with a Ghist bound to it, or can be selling goods as a Caveman Shopkeeper (2).

Behavior[]

Cavemen walk around back and forth, turning around if they meet a ledge. If they see the spelunker, they yell and charge in their direction, running off ledges and only calming down if stunned or falling into a one tile wide gap. They deal 1 HP on contact.

Cavemen are limited to what they can see in front of them, remaining passive as for long as the spelunker is not in their line of sight.

Cavemen can interact with other Cavemen, Tiki Men, or Witch Doctors that they encounter and have what appears to be a conversation, albeit consisting of caveman grunts and spitting.

In some areas, Cavemen can be found asleep. Getting too close to a sleeping Caveman while running (walking doesn’t wake him up) has him blink 1-4 times before getting up and charging in the direction of the spelunker. Explosions also wake up cavemen.

Throughout the caves, Cavemen can be found riding Mounts. While in Volcana they can be seen riding Rock Dogs and in Tide Pool they can be seen riding Axolotls, they can be found riding Cave Turkeys in any area except Dwelling or Cosmic Ocean. This includes areas where it would be strange to encounter Cavemen, such as Duat. If they spot the spelunker, they command their mount to fire at them if possible, otherwise charging at them at wild speeds. Relieving the mount of its Caveman rider leaves it tamed and passive to the player. The caveman can also be spotted frozen inside of a block of ice in the Ice Caves.

Items[]

Cavemen can pick up items and treasure in front of them when in their passive state, but do not throw or use them. This can sometimes be detrimental to their well being, such as picking up an Idol rigged to a trap. They can also put on Backwear, but also do not think to utilize them.

When provoked, a charging caveman can trip over items, being momentarily stunned and dropping any items they were holding. If they were holding a Shotgun or Freeze Ray, tripping causes their finger to slip over the trigger, unknowingly firing the weapon. They can also trip over un-held weapons in the environment, such as a lone shotgun, which can set it off. If holding an item and tripping over something, they will drop said item. This can lead to Cavemen holding Idols, and when they trip over something, dropping the idol in a shop, where the shopkeeper will buy it. This sale is unfairly attributed to the Spelunker however.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Cavemen are Spelunky creator Derek Yu's favorite enemy.
    • In an online interview Derek Yu stated that he modeled the Caveman after being inspired by his acquaintance George. In the early years prior to the announcement of Spelunky 2, this had led to some lending the nickname "George" to the Cavemen.
  • The Cavemen being frozen in Ice Caves is a reference to Ötzi the Iceman, a natural ice mummy from around 3200 B.C., found by scientists in the Tyrol Alps of Europe.


Other games[]

Appearances in other Spelunky games:

Spelunky 2 Bestiary
Dwelling SnakeSpiderBatCavemanSkeletonHorned LizardCave MoleQuillback
Jungle MantrapTiki ManWitch DoctorMosquitoMonkeyHang SpiderGiant Spider
Volcana MagmarRobotFire BugImpLavamanderVampireVlad
Olmec's Lair Olmec
Tide Pool JiangshiJiangshi AssassinFlying FishOctopyHermit CrabPangxieGreat Humphead
Abzu Kingu
Temple of Anubis CrocmanCobraMummySorceressCat MummyNecromancerAnubis
Duat AmmitApepAnubis IIOsiris
Ice Caves UFOAlienYetiYeti KingYeti QueenLahamuProto Shopkeeper
Neo Babylon OlmiteLamassu
Tiamat's Throne Tiamat
Sunken City TadpoleFrogFire FrogGoliath FrogGrubGiant Fly
Eggplant World Eggplant MinisterEggplup
Hundun's Hideaway Hundun
Cosmic Ocean Celestial Jelly
Miscallaneous ScorpionBeeQueen BeeScarabGolden MonkeyLeprechaunPetsGhistGhost
Mounts Cave TurkeyRock DogAxolotlQilinMech Rider
No Journal Entry Critters
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