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Tempiette Cave (Entremont-le-Vieux, Savoie, France) : paleoecology, seasonality and taphonomy of an ibex and chamois trap-cave
GRIGGO, Christophe
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ARGANT, Jacqueline
;
ARGANT, Alain
;
GAY, Ingrid
2019
Tempiette Cave, in the northern Chartreuse mountains, is composed of a horizontal gallery leading to a 32-meter-deep shaft. This shaft functioned as a natural trap into which many animals fell, thus creating a true ossuary. The bone accumulation is composed mostly of ibex and chamois remains. These animals visited the cave during the warm season, attracted by the presence of salt. Tempiette Cave is a paleontological site that formed in environmental conditions similar to those of nearby archaeological sites. It thus constitutes an excellent taphonomic reference site for natural accumulations in a mountain karst environment.
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