Bluefish Caves
Bluefish Caves is located in the northern Yukon about 54 kilometers southwest of the community of Old Crow. It is one of North America’s most significant archaeological discoveries and is of great cultural significance to the Vuntut Gwitchin.
Region:
Yukon
Field Documentation:
July 29, 2024
Field Documentation Type:
Terrestrial LiDAR
Historic Period:
18000CE
Latitude:
67.080308
Longitude:
-140.30863
Threat Level
Bluefish Caves – The Past Four Decades
In 1975, archaeologist Jacques Cinq-Mars made an unintentional discovery of the Bluefish Caves archaeological site while conducting a brief helicopter survey of the Bluefish River, Yukon Territory [4]. The site, located 54 km southwest of Old Crow on Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation territory, consists of three small karstic caves at the base of a Devonian limestone ridge that is about 250 meters above the Bluefish River’s right bank. The initial excavations were conducted between 1977 and 1987. All three caves have a loess layer up to one meter thick deposited on bedrock, which is covered by a humus layer containing cryoclastic debris and modern surface humus. The loess deposit was further divided into three sub-layers using granulometric and sedimentological analysis. Within the deposit, archaeologists uncovered a diverse faunal assemblage dominated by Ice Age animal species, as well as a lithic assemblage of about 100 specimens, including microblades, microblade cores, burins, burin spalls, and small flakes [4][5]. In 2017, researchers at the Université de Montréal conducted a comprehensive taphonomic re-analysis of the assemblage, revealing cut-marked bone samples with AMS radiocarbon ages as early as 24,000 cal BP [2][3].
Blue Fish Caves Today
Active fieldwork at Bluefish Caves has resumed in earnest under the Odyssey Archaeological Research Program at the University of Kansas, working in ongoing collaboration with the Yukon Archaeology Program and Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation. Pilot research conducted in 2019 demonstrated that ancient DNA is well-preserved in the buried soils of Cave III. Survey work identified a previously unknown Cave IV, whose entrance is almost completely filled with sediment, suggesting a high potential for intact cultural deposits [1]. Excavations at Cave IV in 2022 recovered stone specimens and over 160 faunal remains from late-Pleistocene loess, with bone surfaces being examined microscopically for taphonomic marks [1]. As recently as the summer of 2025, the Odyssey Program returned for its fifth field season, reflecting the site’s importance in understanding the earliest human presence in North America [1]. For the Vuntut Gwich’in, the site carries a significance that extends well beyond its scientific value. Community members hold oral stories of their people living alongside animals no longer present in the territory, including giant beavers and other Pleistocene megafauna [6]. Bluefish Caves today continue to be an important place that has a living relationship with the Vuntut Gwich’in people
Digital Work on Bluefish Caves
Until very recently, Bluefish Caves had received no systematic digital documentation despite its significance. That gap began to be addressed through an international collaborative project in the summer of 2024. We used 3D scanning technology to digitally capture the four individual caves and the surrounding landscape. We also developed workflows specifically designed to filter dense vegetation from point cloud data that captures a cave setting, in order to better reveal cave dimensions and internal structures that are otherwise obscured. This work marks the first concerted effort to create a spatial digital record of the site itself. This also opens possibilities for remote analysis, site monitoring, public engagement, and integration with the ongoing excavation data. Digital documentation represents not only a research tool but a tool for education and outreach for the Vuntut Gwich’in’s future generation.
[1] “Bluefish Caves.” 2019. Ku.edu. 2019. https://kgs.ku.edu/bluefish-caves.
[2] Bourgeon, Lauriane. 2021. “Revisiting the Mammoth Bone Modifications from Bluefish Caves (YT, Canada).” Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 37: 102969. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.102969.
[3] Bourgeon, Lauriane, Ariane Burke, and Thomas Higham. 2017. “Earliest Human Presence in North America Dated to the Last Glacial Maximum: New Radiocarbon Dates from Bluefish Caves, Canada.” Edited by John P. Hart. PLOS ONE 12 (1): e0169486. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0169486.
[4] Cinq-Mars, Jacques, and Richard E Morlan. 1999. “Bluefish Caves and Old Crow Basin: A New Rapport.” Ice Age Peoples of North America. Environments, Origins, and Adaptations of the First Americans. Center for the Study of the First Americans: Oregon State University Press.
[5] CinqMars, J. 1979. “Bluefish Cave L: A Late Pleistocene Eastern Beringian Cave Deposit in the Northern Yukon.” Canadian Journal of Archaeology / Journal Canadien D’Archéologie, no. 3: 1–32. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41102194.
[6] Forrest, Maura. 2017. “New Research Finds That Humans May Have Lived in the Yukon 24,000 Years Ago – Yukon News.” Yukon News. January 18, 2017. https://yukon-news.com/2017/01/18/new-research-finds-that-humans-may-have-lived-in-the-yukon-24000-years-ago/.
The following images illustrate the equipment used to digitally capture Bluefish Caves, as well as how we travelled to and from the site.
The data files for this project are not presently available through Open Access. Please contact pcdawson@ucalgary.ca for further information.
Bluefish Caves are located approximately 54 km (about 34 miles) southwest of the Vuntut Gwichin community of Old Crow in northern Yukon, Canada. The archaeological site consists of four small caves situated near the Bluefish River.
Creating a Digital Twin of Blue Fish Cave
Fieldwork for digital scanning took place from July to August, 2023 due to good weather conditions. After conducting a field investigation and preparation, we decided to use the GeoSLAM ZEB Horizon Vision mobile laser scanner to capture the four caves, the archaeologists’ base camp, the surrounding trails, and the landscape. Comprehensive scanning was conducted over all of the mentioned regions, and selected files were processed on-site to ensure that all critical features had been captured. Photographs were also taken to document the state of the caves during the scanning process, which were then compared to the point clouds and, eventually, the 3D models. Furthermore, a method for removing vegetation was developed in order to better examine the caves’ structure in their bare form. This method uses CloudCompare to remove vegetation from a point cloud and Blender to visualize the 3D model produced later. The 3D model preserves the rugged textures and detailed contours of the rocky limestone landscape, while the cave’s intricate walls on the exterior and interior reveal its structural complexity. In addition to the main “positive” view, viewers of the 3D model have the unique opportunity to observe the cave model’s “negative” or backside, which provides a perspective that highlights the cave formation and full structure. The detailed 3D models of Bluefish Caves created from point clouds, particularly with the use of model negatives, have the potential to benefit future education, public engagement, and research. These models highlight the complexity of cave geological formations by offering a comprehensive view of both the interior and exterior structures. These models can be presented to viewers in two ways: virtual exploration using a digital platform, and/or physical interaction with these models using 3D printing technology.
Removing Vegetation from Digital Twin
A method for processing point cloud data captured in a cave/rock shelter environment, with a focus on vegetation filtering and subsequent 3D model generation is developed during this project. We see the significant benefit for removing the vegetation of the Bluefish Caves. With the vegetation being filtered out and removed, we would be able to examine the structure of the caves in its bare form. This method uses two free and open-sourced software: CloudCompare for point cloud processing and Blender for 3D visualization. The detailed 3D models of Bluefish Caves created from point clouds with removed vegetation might potentially benefit future education, public engagement, and research. These model showcases the complexity of the cave geological formations by providing a comprehensive perspective of both the interior and exterior structures. These models can possibly present to viewers in two ways, through virtual exploration with the use of digital platform, and/or physical interaction with these models using 3D printing technology.
Scan Locations
Grab the Slider With Your Mouse and Move it Left and Right to Compare Images.
This series of slider images allows for a direct comparison between on-site photographs—in which the caves are partially obscured by vegetation—and their corresponding 3D models, in which the vegetation has been digitally removed to better reveal shape, volume, and surface details.
