Primitive sort near the land by isle (11,3)
I believe the answer is:
neanderthal man
'primitive' is the definition.
(primitive human species)
'sort near the land by isle' is the wordplay.
'sort' is an anagram indicator.
'by' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'isle' becomes 'man' (the Isle of Man is an example).
'near'+'the'+'land'='neartheland'
'neartheland' anagrammed gives 'neanderthal'.
'neanderthal'+'man'='NEANDERTHAL MAN'
(Other definitions for neanderthal man that I've seen before include "Chap around earlier" , "from prehistoric times, old chap" , "Primitive type" , "Cave-dweller" .)