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Old Mother was the mother of Za, leader of the Tribe of Gum circa 100,000 BC. When Za's father was killed while hunting before he could pass the secret of making fire on to Za, Old Mother became convinced his death was divine punishment for using fire, and feared Za's quest to reclaim the secret would bring disaster on the tribe.
When the outsider Kal brought an old man to the tribe whom he claimed he had seen making fire, Old Mother knew her son would try to wrest the secret from this stranger and his young companions, provoking the wrath of Orb. After Za ordered the strangers imprisoned in the Cave of Skulls, Old Mother waited until the tribe slept and snuck away to the cave, taking a stone knife with her. Using a secret entrance, she crawled into the cave and cut the strangers's bonds, telling them to flee into the forest.
Za was furious with her mother for having set the strangers free, but he had no time to deal with her. Shoving her to the ground and knocking her unconscious, Za left with his mate Hur to pursue the strangers. When Old Mother awoke, she found herself facing Kal, who was even angrier at what she had done. Kal had hoped to wrest the secret of fire from the strangers and use it to usurp Za's position as leader, and Old Mother had cheated him of that opportunity. Using a stone, he killed the old woman.
Later, after being brought back to the tribe, the Doctor was able to convince the tribe that it was Kal who killed Old Mother, and that such a man could not be trusted as leader or even as one of the tribe. Kal was driven out into the wilderness. The Doctor and his companions were reimprisoned in the Cave of Skulls, this time with the secret entrance blocked and Old Mother's bloody corpse for company. Doubtless, the cadaver's presence added extra impetus for the final escape from the cave and this era which the time travellers were eventually able to affect.