A new study of North American Clovis points dating to at least 13,000 years ago finds that this well-known Native American tradition was a remarkable innovation in longstanding hunting strategies. Findings based on museum collections from archaeological sites offer insight into the ways people adapted to landscapes dominated by Ice Age megafauna, including mammoths, giant bison and extinct horses, during the Paleolithic. This research began with the hypothesis that lance-shaped Clovis points were part of an engineered system positioned at the tip of long, stout spears, or pikes, used in braced position to receive a large animal’s charge. This is the first experimental study of lithic weaponry to survey pike hunting techniques and to consider the archaeological implications of this hunting strategy.