The fluted stone point, however beautiful and however technically demanding to produce, is only one part of the weapon system in which it functioned.

It was hafted to a shaft.

It was held in place by binding.

The complete weapon — the delivery system — included organic components that rarely survive.

But here is what the Manis point forces into view: what if the tip was not stone at all?

What if the Clovis stone point, which survives and dominates the archaeological record because stone survives, was only one of several tip materials that were used by people across different regions and traditions during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene?

The answer, which Manis helps to crystallize, is that bone tools were present in the Americas before Clovis.