Mammoth ivory is not easy to work.

It requires significant time and skill.

The production of a finished ivory foreshaft involves shaping, smoothing, and fitting a piece of material that comes from one of the largest animals on the Pleistocene steppe.

But the result is a component that is superior in certain applications to alternatives — stronger than many wood options, more resilient than bone, shapeable into forms that maximize aerodynamic efficiency.

The presence of multiple ivory foreshafts at Yana, along with the worked rhinoceros horn foreshaft that first attracted attention to the site, tells us that the community was investing significant skilled labor in weapon production.