I was sure they were going to sacrifice him to the fire god.

Its OK. Adversity breeds innovation. They were forced to pass on the secret of making fire from scratch which was ultimately better.

I'm sure there's a deleted scene where we find out he's bald because he burned his hair off!

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I won't claim any expertise on the subject but thank you for the compliment. I just felt touched by the understanding and compassion that the Ulam tribe displayed when their firekeeper dropped the fireholder into the water. The firekeeper was obviously no brave tough hunter type. But he had kept the fire burning all his adult life. No one abused this obviously helpless man for his mistake. It was all about the tolerance and forgiveness they showed him. It also helped that the returning hero brought the secret of fire starting with him.

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The Ulam neanderthal tribe was the most advanced in the region until the movie's three heroes stumble upon a village of anatomically modern humans, us. The three heroes are astounded at the vast differences of cultural and technological refinements between themselves and the prehistoric modern humans.
Still, the Ulam neanderthals evinced more advanced human emotion than their rougher neighbors, the cannibalistic savage, more primitive Kzamm neanderthals, and the ape-like Wagabou homo erectus. Just be kinder to the bald, Ulam tribe firekeeper. He seems to have done his job competently all his life. He made just one mistake in dropping the fire holder. Still, the Ulam neanderthals were advanced enough to tolerate his mistake and not kill him in a rage. That showed human advancement.
Despite all the effective fire-starting methods employed by the prehistoric peoples, the discovery of the flint and hard rock technique effectively abolished all other fire-starting methods to obsolescence. When man discovered how to smelt iron and later create small quantities of low-grade steel, the flint and steel technique dominated for the following thousands of years.
Today, camping stores and outdoor survival experts still advocate a back-up ferrocerium stick and steel striker. That disposable lighter doesn't last forever.

Hahahaha! Great story about Gary Schwartz, thanks for sharing!
I saw it coming when he got the fire-basket thing again at the end: "Oh, no!! Don't give it to that guy!!" Hahaha!

Ha ha! That caveman that dropped the fire is the great actor, Gary Schwartz. A really nice guy who is the artistic director for a community theatre, Valley Center Stage, in Northbend, WA (30 miles east of Seattle).
He often tells the story of seeing the movie in the theater for the first time and while watching the ending credits roll, a guy near him yells out when he see's Gary's name: "Gary Schwartz? Who the hell ever heard of a Jewish caveman?"