Recent reanalysis of material excavated from the Bluefish Caves, Yukon Territory claims to have identified culturally modified bone dating to 24,000 cal. BP, thereby providing evidence for continuous human occupation of eastern Beringia from the Last Glacial Maximum. However, the recent research largely ignores the history of criticisms of the site and leaves outstanding questions about the site context, associations of lithic artifacts and Last Glacial Maximum radiocarbon dates, and the impact of natural processes on the faunal assemblage, and therefore, how the site fits into the broader Beringian archaeological record. This paper critically analyzes the archaeological record from Bluefish Caves by focusing on evidence for significantly disturbed archaeological contexts and alteration of bone by nonanthropogenic processes. We offer alternative hypotheses explaining the archaeological record at Bluefish Caves based on published data that were not considered in the recent reanalysis. These alternative hypotheses must be addressed before Bluefish Caves can be considered evidence for a Last Glacial Maximum occupation of Beringia. Bluefish Caves remains provocative but unconvincing archaeological evidence for the Beringian Standstill supported by genetic data.

中文翻译：

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育空地区蓝鱼洞的遗址形成、起源和自然过程对骨骼的影响的未解决问题

育空地区最近对从蓝鱼洞穴挖掘出的材料进行了重新分析，声称已经确定了可以追溯到 24,000 卡路里的经过文化改造的骨头。BP，从而为人类从末次盛冰期持续占领白令东部东部提供了证据。然而，最近的研究在很大程度上忽略了对该遗址的批评历史，并留下了关于遗址背景、石器文物和末次盛冰期放射性碳年代的关联以及自然过程对动物群落的影响等未解决的问题。该遗址适合更广泛的白令考古记录。本文通过关注显着扰乱的考古环境和非人为过程引起的骨骼改变的证据，批判性地分析了蓝鱼洞穴的考古记录。我们根据最近重新分析中未考虑的已发表数据提供替代假设来解释蓝鱼洞穴的考古记录。在将蓝鱼洞穴视为末次盛冰期占领白令大陆的证据之前，必须解决这些替代假设。蓝鱼洞穴仍然是有争议的，但没有令人信服的考古证据表明白令海峡的停滞，并得到遗传数据的支持。