The record is not static; it is a moving edge of the knowable past.

What the Arlington Springs find contributes that is more durable than any “oldest” ranking is the geographic and chronological fact: maritime-capable people on the California coast, specifically on an island, approximately 13,000 years ago.

This fact is not dependent on whether an older individual is eventually found elsewhere.

Whether or not someone has a bone found tomorrow that is 14,000 years old from another location, the person at Arlington Springs was still on that island 13,000 years ago.

That geographic fact — island, open water, required crossing — is what makes the find significant independent of any ranking.