Ancient DNA from the Bluefish Caves human-modified specimens is one of the most important potential future contributions.

Extracting ancient DNA from bones that are 24,000 years old in the preservation conditions of the Yukon is technically challenging — DNA preservation in such old specimens from non-permafrost contexts is highly variable — but the development of increasingly sensitive methods for ancient DNA extraction and analysis has progressively extended the range of specimens that can be successfully analyzed.

If ancient DNA could be extracted from the collagen of the Bluefish Caves horse or caribou specimens, the resulting sequences could provide additional confirmation of the dating (since some genetic analysis methods can contribute to age estimation) and could contribute to understanding the specific genetic profiles of the Ice Age animals exploited by the Bluefish Caves people.

More speculatively, if any human genetic material was deposited on the bones during the processing activities — a possibility given that butchery involves close physical contact between the butcher and the carcass — the detection of human DNA in the specimens, however fragmentary, would add an additional line of evidence for the human origin of the modifications.