In the excitement generated by the Manis findings — the CT scans, the protein analysis, the 3D reconstruction — it is important to keep clearly in view what the evidence does not tell us about the people who made and used the bone projectile point.

We do not know their language.

We do not know their social organization.

We do not know whether they were hunting in a large group, a small group, or as an individual.

We do not know whether this attack on the mastodon was part of a long-established tradition of mastodon hunting or an opportunistic encounter with an unfamiliar species.

We do not know the full range of technologies they used beyond the specific point that the rib happened to preserve.

We cannot assign the people responsible for this hunting event to any specific modern tribe, nation, or named archaeological culture.