Rôle du gypaète barbu (Gypaetus barbatus) dans la constitution de l'assemblage osseux de la grotte du Noisetier (Fréchet-Aure, Hautes-Pyrénées, France) Bearded vultures activity and its incidence on the bone accumulation of the Noisetier cave (Fréchet-Aure, Hautes-Pyrénées, France)

Located in the Aure Valley (French central Pyrenees), the Noisetier cave opens at 825 m asl. This Middle Palaeolithic site has produced a Mousterian industry associated with a rich faunal assemblage. Bone remains are dominated by Chamois then Ibex and Red deer. Taphonomic analysis strongly suggests a human origin for the Ibex and the Red deer but questions arise for the Chamois. The chamois assemblage differed from the bones of both species by its low cut marks ratio. Semi-digested bones are particularly abundant. Differences are even more perceptible for skeletal portions. For Red deer and Ibex, long bone remains are mostly shaft portions whereas for Chamois, ends are the most abundant. Comparisons of the Noisetier cave bone assemblage with different present-day reference data leads to the conclusion that Chamois bones have mostly been accumulated by bearded vultures. © 2008 Elsevier Masson SAS. Tous droits reserves. Mots cles : Taphonomie ; Agents d’accumulation ; Gypaete barbu ; Traces de semi-digestion ; Mousterien