The pre-Clovis debate had been largely settled by then — there were people in the Americas before the Clovis horizon, and they were probably not Clovis-tradition people.

The Western Stemmed Tradition debate had, in this context, shifted somewhat: the question was now less about whether stemmed points were Clovis-age or pre-Clovis, and more about the specific geographic origins and internal chronology of the Western Stemmed Tradition itself.

The Buhl burial remained relevant to this evolved debate, but the date’s reliability problems complicated its role.

Without a reliable date, the burial’s contribution to chronological questions was limited.

The stemmed biface beside her was still an important artifact.