A prehistoric culture in North America, characterized by lance-shaped stone points, 7–12 cm (3–5 inches) long, fluted near the base. The tools are often found in association with bones of large mammals, such as bison and extinct mammoth, and are assumed to have been used as spear heads. Named after a town in western New Mexico, they are found at sites throughout the mid-west and south-west, USA from a period between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago. At one time, Clovis hunters were regarded as typifying the first Americans, but it has been suggested that people were in the Americas long before, perhaps even by 30,000 years ago.