And what it shows — a deliberately shaped, functional bone projectile point — is exactly what we would expect from people with the cognitive sophistication and technical knowledge to cross a hemisphere, find food in unfamiliar environments, and survive the end of the Ice Age.

They were not limited to stone.

They never were.

The Question Of Delivery Systems

What kind of weapon system delivered the Manis bone point to the mastodon’s rib?

This is one of the questions that the available evidence does not resolve definitively, and it is worth being explicit about what is and is not known.

The three main possibilities — a thrusting lance, a thrown spear, or an atlatl dart — each have different implications for the distance and momentum of the attack.

A thrusting lance would require very close contact with the mastodon — close enough to be in immediate danger from the animal’s response.