The caves had apparently been used by carnivores, particularly wolves and foxes, as dens and food-processing sites.

The accumulation of bones reflected cycles of carnivore occupation and natural death events, slowly buried by windblown sediment called loess that accumulated in the cave.

Among the bones, Cinq-Mars identified what he believed were specimens that had been modified by humans.

He reported these findings in the scientific literature, making the case that Bluefish Caves contained evidence of human activity during the Last Glacial Maximum — a claim that, if correct, would push the evidence for human presence in North America back to a period significantly earlier than the then-current scientific consensus.

The claim was met with serious skepticism.