Jacques Cinq-Mars Born: 1941/42 (died 27 November 2021, aged 79) was a Canadian archaeologist specializing in Canada, especially Yukon.[1] Cinq-Mars excavated the Bluefish Caves site in the Old Crow area from 1977 to 1987.[2] His careful research showed the presence of humans in the Americas long before Clovis.[3] His dates for the site are around 24,000 BP.[4][5] Cinq-Mars began his work in the Old Crow area early in the 1970s.[6] Although the Clovis-first hypothesis has substantially fallen out of favor, some archaeologists question the 24,000 BP date for human presence at Blue Fish Caves.[7]

He was on the staff of the Canadian Museum of History.

He is survived by his widow Andrée Favre, and his two sons, Marc and Eric Cinq-Mars.[1]

Selected publications edit

  • Cinq-Mars, Jaques. 1979. “Bluefish Cave I: A Late Pleistocene Western Beringian Cave Deposit in the Northern Yukon,” Canadian Journal of Archaeology 3: 1–32.
  • Morlan, Richard E., and Jacques Cinq-Mars. 1983. “Ancient Beringians: Human Occupations in the Late Pleistocene of Alaska and the Yukon Territory,” pp. 53–382 in The Paleoecology of Beringia, edited by D. M. Hopkins, J. V. Mathews, C. E. Schweger, and S. B. Young. Academic Press: New York.
  • Cinq-Mars J. and Morlan RE. 1999. "Bluefish Caves and Old Crow Basin: A New Rapport," pp. 200–212 in Ice Age Peoples of North America Environments, Origins, and Adaptations of the First Americans, edited by R. Bonnichsen and K. L. Turnmire. Center for the Study of the First Americans. Oregon State University Press.

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Archaeologist whose research in Yukon made waves in science world remembered". CBC News. 2021-12-07. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  2. ^ 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. Bibcode:2017PLoSO..1269486B. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0169486. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 5218561. PMID 28060931.
  3. ^ Bidal, Devon (14 March 2022). "What Were Humans Doing in the Yukon 24,000 Years Ago?". Smithsonian Magazine. Smithsonian Institution. Hakai Magazine. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  4. ^ "What Happens When an Archaeologist Challenges Mainstream Scientific Thinking?". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  5. ^ ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Science-. "Décès de l'archéologue Jacques Cinq-Mars, associé pour toujours aux grottes Bluefish". Radio-Canada.ca (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  6. ^ "Archaeologist whose research in Yukon made waves in science world remembered | CBC News".
  7. ^ Kathryn E. Krasinski and John C. Blong. 2020. "Unresolved Questions about Site Formation, Provenience, and the Impact of Natural Processes on Bone at the Bluefish Caves, Yukon Territory," Arctic Anthropology 57(1): 1 1-21. doi: 10.3368/aa.57.1.1