eat food, make and improve your gear, run away if you fall under half health. Use honey to heal up when you run/ evade attacks. Use a shield to block attacks. Use a bow to soften things up first or kill a few of a group. Do not die. Run, exploit terrain, enter a cave/tomb, whatever, but avoid death at all costs as it is a huge pain. Take it slow ... there is no reason to rush to a harder area before your gear is upgraded and you have a good amount of quality food, arrows, etc.