Dense mammal bone — particularly the compact cortical bone of large mammals — is a remarkable material.

It is hard, tough, and capable of holding a sharp edge or a fine point under substantial impact.

The same properties that make it durable in a skeletal context — resistance to fracture, high stiffness combined with some degree of flexibility — make it an effective material for tools that will be used under stress.

Bone tools were made and used by people across multiple continents throughout the Upper Paleolithic — the period of advanced stone-tool making that characterized modern humans in Europe, Asia, and Africa before and during the Last Glacial Maximum.

The bone points, needles, awls, and other implements found in European and Asian Paleolithic sites demonstrate that Homo sapiens had a sophisticated bone-tool technology long before the peopling of the Americas.