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.

The Holzman archaeological site, located along Shaw Creek in interior Alaska, contained two mammoth ivory rods, of which one is bi-beveled, within a stratigraphically sealed cultural context. Dated 13,600–13,300 cal BP, these are the earliest known examples of osseous rod technology in the Americas. Beveled ivory, antler, and bone rods and points share technological similarities between Upper Paleolithic Europe, Asia, eastern Beringia, and the Clovis tradition of North America and are important tool types in understanding the late Pleistocene dispersal of modern humans. The Holzman finds are comparable to well-known Clovis tradition artifacts from Anzick (Montana), Blackwater Draw (New Mexico), East Wenatchee (Washington), and Sherman Cave (Ohio). We describe these tools in the broader context of late Pleistocene osseous technology with implications for acquisition and use of mammoth ivory in eastern Beringia and beyond.

The subarctic boreal forest, or taiga, is the largest biome in the world but has received minimal archaeological research because of its remoteness and difficult working conditions. In Southcentral Alaska the most common archaeological sites are surface manifestations of proto-historic semi-subterranean caches once used for food storage and living structures. However, in dense summer vegetation, these small-scale features are difficult to locate without high intensity pedestrian survey. To test the usefulness of LiDAR data for archaeological prospection in the taiga, we compare LiDAR imagery to the known distribution of small-scale semi-subterranean cultural features. The use of LiDAR, when complemented with Sky-View Factor, has proven valuable in identifying relatively small semi-subterranean features though it does not replace on-the-ground investigation. Nevertheless, the application of LiDAR to locate low density and small-scale cultural features is widely applicable across the subarctic in densely vegetated contexts and may assist in significantly expanding our current knowledge of land-use patterns and site distributions in logistically challenging places.

Food waste is an issue that affects human and environmental health around the planet. At colleges and universities, food waste poses a serious concern, as its impact can be compared to that of mini-cities or large corporations. Identifying an institution’s capacity to reduce and redistribute food waste is critical to decreasing its carbon footprint and maintaining sustainability. Understanding the nature of waste produced at a university’s buildings is the first step in establishing effective waste management plans; however, campus cafeterias, being the primary source of food waste, are typically the focus. Limited research emphasis has been placed on assessing food waste generated in campus dormitories. This project tests the hypothesis that food waste generated from dormitories at the main campus of Adelphi University, a private liberal arts institution in New York, is a significant component of waste. To analyze post-consumer trash disposal patterns, garbology methods were utilized. Trash collected at dormitories between 2022 and 2024 was sorted and weighed. This mixed-methods analysis included student interviews of waste perceptions. Food waste was the primary waste type generated in the halls, followed by food and beverage packaging, including containers, napkins, and utensils. In particular, food waste comprised 32% of sampled dormitory waste. Interview results integrated with these quantitative results demonstrated student perceptions of food led to food waste, such as perceived level of cooking, portion sizes, and home context. These results suggest that any efforts to improve campus sustainability through management of food waste–such as composting or anaerobic digestion–must encompass dormitories as well as cafeterias. As the world’s population continues to rise at a rapid pace, primarily in metropolitan areas, the volume of waste generated by this growth must be managed to address planetary health.