stone tools and artifacts of bone were found, Gustafson failed to find evidence of an encampment by the people theorized to have butchered the mastodons. Prior to the excavation at the Manis site, which was dated before 12,000 years ago, archaeological sites west of the Cascade Range considered to be early were aged between 9,000 and 6,000 years old. During the years of excavation, Clare and Emanuel Manis welcomed over 50,000 visitors to the site. In 1978, when the site was added to the National Register of Historic Places, Senator Henry M. Jackson made the announcement. In 2002, on the 25th anniversary of the discovery, Manis' widow donated the site to the National Archaeological Conservancy. The fossil remains of the mastodon were donated to the Sequim Museum & Arts in Sequim and are now on display. A casting of the bone projectile point is also on display. In Oct. 2011, the Center of the Study of the First Americans (CSFA), Anthropology Department at Texas A&M University published findings from DNA tests, CT scans and radiocarbon dating on the mastodon and the spear point. The CT scan clearly established the spear point had been sharpened to a needle point by human hands. Four radiocarbon dates yielded an age of 13,860–13,763 calendar years BP. Since the 1950s, archaeologists have believed the Clovis people were the first human inhabitants of North America and that they lived here 13,000 years ago. However the discovery of sites pre-dating Clovis, such as Monte Verde in Chile and Meadowcroft Rockshelter in Pennsylvania, have been challenging this presumption at least since the 1990s. The Manis Mastodon site is 800 years older than the Clovis people. This site, among others, is helping to change the long-held beliefs of many archaeologists about the earliest human inhabitants of North America. The Manis Mastodon site remains the oldest archaeological site on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State and one of the oldest in North America. In November 2011, Shirley Manis, daughter of discoverer Emanuel Manis, authored the first and only children's picture book about the Manis Mastodon site, which includes the most recent research analysis. References Sources Daugherty, Richard D. Manis Mastodon Site (Clallam County, Washington), National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form. National Park Service. On file at the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, Olympia, Washington and at the National Park Service, Washington, DC. Gustafson, Carl E.; Gilbow, Delbert; Daugherty,