Bluefish Caves

Bluefish Caves
Bluefish Caves
location in Canada
Location near the Vuntut Gwichin community, Old Crow
Region Yukon, Canada
Coordinates 64°8′07″N 140°31′7″W / 64.13528°N 140.51861°W / 64.13528; -140.51861Coordinates: 64°8′07″N 140°31′7″W / 64.13528°N 140.51861°W / 64.13528; -140.51861
History
Founded 28,000 BP

Bluefish Caves is an archaeological site in Yukon, Canada, located 54 km (34 mi) southwest of the Vuntut Gwichin community of Old Crow, from which a specimen of allegedly human-worked mammoth bone has been radiocarbon dated to 28,000 years before present (BP), earlier than the generally accepted age for habitation of the New World.[1]

Context

Bluefish Cave was initially known to the local First Nations, but was popularized by a fishing expedition in 1976, and later by researchers.This site is made up of three small caves, ranging from 10 to 30 m3 (350 to 1,060 cu ft).[2] The first cave contain various animal bones that appeared to have been dragged there by predators, but findings of tool marks and some tools themselves point to a human presence.[3]

Dating

The site was excavated by archaeologist Jacques Cinq-Mars between 1977–87, and the initial radiocarbon dating suggested an age of 25,000 before present (BP).[4] This was considered controversial as it was in contrast to the Clovis-First theory, widely accepted by academics at the time, which considered the earliest settlement date of North America to be around 13,000 BP.[5] A review of the site in 2017 found it to be 24,000 years old,[6] lending support to the "Beringian standstill" hypothesis - that the ancestors of Native Americans spent considerable time isolated in a Beringian refuge during the Last Glacial Maximum before populating the Americas.[7]

See also

Further reading

The Bluefish Caves in Beringian Prehistory by Jacques Cinq-Mars, Archaeological Survey of Canada

References

  1. ↑ Borkhataria, Cecile (January 16, 2017). "Did the first humans arrive in North America 10,000 years earlier than thought? Bones fund in Canada cave show 'indisputable' marks from stone tools". Daily Mail.
  2. ↑ "Significance of the Bluefish Caves in Beringian Prehistory | Essays | Resources For Scholars | Research | Learn | Canadian Museum of History". www.historymuseum.ca. Retrieved 2017-01-11.
  3. ↑ Saraceni, Jessica E. "New Thoughts on the Bones from Bluefish Caves - Archaeology Magazine". www.archaeology.org. Retrieved 2017-01-11.
  4. ↑ Harington, CR; Cinq-Mars, J (2008). "Bluefish Caves- Fauna and Context" (PDF). Beringian Research Notes. 19.
  5. ↑ Curry, Andrew (2012-05-03). "Ancient migration: Coming to America". Nature. 485 (7396): 30–32. doi:10.1038/485030a.
  6. ↑ Bourgeon, Lauriane; Burke, Ariane; Higham, Thomas (2017-01-06). "Earliest Human Presence in North America Dated to the Last Glacial Maximum: New Radiocarbon Dates from Bluefish Caves, Canada". PLOS ONE. 12 (1): e0169486. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0169486. ISSN 1932-6203.
  7. ↑ "On Way to New World, First Americans Made a 10,000-Year Pit Stop". 2017-02-27. Retrieved 2017-01-11.
  • Bluefish caves (Yukon, Canada) by George Weber
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