Thomas A. Demere Daniel C. Fisher Richard Fullagar James B. Paces George T. Jefferson Jared M. Beeton Richard A. Cerutti Adam N. Rountrey Lawrence Vescera Kathleen A. Holen Steven R. Holen 2018 <p><span>Contrary to our hypothesis</span><span>&nbsp;that the Cerutti Mastodon (CM) site represents a 130,000-year-old archaeological site, in the accompanying Comment</span><span>&nbsp;Ferraro&nbsp;</span><i>et al</i><span>. argue that the site formed through ‘common’ geological and taphonomic processes. As a source for the cobbles that we interpreted as hammerstones and anvils, they postulate a previously unrecognized alluvial fan, later removed by fluvial winnowing that somehow left our five cobbles, refitting flakes, and fragments of stone, mastodon bone and teeth in place. There is no sedimentological or geomorphic evidence of an alluvial fan, and their scenario leaves unexplained a number of taphonomic features, including the two discrete concentrations in which were found cobbles, refit stones and bones, impact-fractured bones, side-by-side femoral heads and a tusk oriented vertically.</span></p> application/pdf 10.1038/nature25166 en Springer Nature Holen et al. reply article