Bluefish Caves

Bluefish Caves is an archaeological site in the Keele Range, Canada, with three limestone cavities on a ridge above the Bluefish River. The cavities contain sediment layers that accumulated during the late Pleistocene and preserve remains from the last Ice Age.

Research between 1977 and 1987 uncovered evidence of human activity 24,000 years ago, including animal bones with processing marks from stone tools. These discoveries challenged earlier assumptions about the settlement of North America and pushed back the beginning of human presence on the continent by many millennia.

The site preserves bones of extinct animals and stone tools that document early hunting methods and show how people in the Ice Age interacted with their surroundings. Visitors can understand from these finds how hunters used the region's geography to track and kill large game.

The site lies 54 kilometers (34 miles) southwest of the Old Crow community and requires specialized transport and permits for access. Those planning research or educational visits should coordinate in advance with local authorities, as the area is difficult to reach.

The site holds the earliest documented archaeological evidence in Canada and has fundamentally changed theories about the timing of the first human settlement in North America. The bones also prove that humans and megafauna coexisted for millennia before the large species disappeared.