Adult mammoths were capable of inflicting lethal injury on predators and hunters, and their social groups meant that attacking one animal risked responses from others.

The strategies required to kill mammoths effectively — and the kill-site evidence confirms that Clovis people did so — required sophisticated planning, effective weapons, and probably coordinated group effort.

The Clovis points found at mammoth kill sites are embedded in specific anatomical locations that tell the story of the hunts: ribs, vertebrae, and the bones of the thorax and hindquarters are the most common locations for associated Clovis points, suggesting that hunters were targeting the most vulnerable areas of the animal’s anatomy.

The specific placement of points is consistent with hunting strategies designed to deliver lethal wounds to vital organs while minimizing the hunter’s exposure to counterattack.