The characters' contemporary language and Pitar's thorough knowledge of modern-day history, philosophy and science add to the grotesque humor of the novel, while his two friends quote classical Roman literature and Chinese sayings.

[10] Pitar's close friends are Carpediem, who enunciates Latin phrases and quotes the writers of Classical Antiquity, and Lao, who frequently refers to Chinese philosophy.

Although it is difficult to convince his fellow Hominidae to follow him, Pitar manages to persuade the patriarchal leader of the clan, Costello, who has taken command from the recently deceased Thorn.

Costello, however, considers the parliament to be a forum in which he can consolidate his power, citing famous speeches by Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln; the other members ruin this noble idea with their lack of discipline and ostentatious indifference.

Writer Karin Gayer mentions in her review that the love story of Pitar and Maluma, and its positioning within the text, offers "a second interpretation of the beginning and the end".

[21] While political power is controlled by the males, the social structure seems matrifocal and matrilineal, corresponding to the image of prehistoric societies exhibited by scholars.

While the society of the band is depicted as driven by sexual attraction in a male hierarchy, the relationship between Pitar and Maluma leads them to break away from traditional habitudes.

The satirical character of the book stems from the underlying grotesque scenario, the speeches of Pitar and his fellow hominids, the mentioning of artifacts which have not yet been invented, and the numerous allusions to world history and literature.

[25] Steffen Roye from the German literary magazine Verstärker states in the title of his book review that Ebner has the characters of his story "talk as if they were modern-day juveniles".

[27] Similar judgments have been made by other critics when they reviewed the preceding works by Ebner, such as Wolfgang Ratz about Auf der Kippe[28] or Julia Rafael about Lose.

[31] Several reviewers underline the narrative's ironic and satirical aspect, including the names of the characters, Latin quotations and idioms [10] as well as the parallelism between the seven days of Creation and scientific hominization.

[20] Similarly to other reviewers who had written about Ebner's earlier books,[32] she highlights the sophisticated use of a detail-rich language which is "steeped in subtle and sensitive humor".

[33] Despite many explicit allusions to several world religions, Ingrid Reichel states that the novel is a book for “readers with humor, for reasoners (…), for darwinists, on no account for creationists, to a lesser extent for people of faith, but rather for atheists, … and fundamentalists drop out entirely”.

[34] Another aspect is identified by Karin Gayer when pinpointing the parallel evolution of the patriarchal hierarchy in the narrated society and the alluded social matriarchy, the first resembling chimpanzee communities and the second representing those of bonobos.

[35] With regard to these underlying comparisons, Gayer says, "On another level we are struck by the permanent notional commingling of the simian and the human, a composition which leaves us pensive and asks the legitimate question where we, who consider ourselves sapiens in a double sense, should finally classify man.

While Heinz Gerstinger and Ingrid Reichel explicitly highlight the comical effect of the insinuations, the German critic Steffen Roye regards them as sometimes "exaggerated"[37] and says, "As the story develops, it becomes more and more like a revue.