Origin

Manifold: Origin is a 2001 science fiction novel by Stephen Baxter in his Manifold series, featuring several prehistoric species.

Plot
A portal transports Reid Malenfant to a strange red moon. There he encounters beings from several alternate universes, including primates that took alternate evolutionary paths from us. A portion of the book is told from the perspective of a hominid without language, who guards a portable fire from going out, similar to the situation from the classic novel The Quest for Fire.