BIRD-BONES FOUND IN THE CAVES. 



247 



When the distribution of the species in the beds just enumerated is examined, 

 the influence of Man is evident in some instances ; it was he who brought thither 

 the Birds which must have served for his food. Thus in the Cave at Les Eyzies 

 we find almost only eatable species, such as the Lagopodes and Grus primi- 

 genia which latter must have been much sought after at that period, not only 

 on account of the delicacy of its flesh, but also because the bones, by reason of 

 their length and solidity, supplied material for the fabrication of needles, arrow- 

 points, and other similar implements. At La Madelaine, also, it was the leavings 

 of the meals that brought about the accumulation of bird-bones ; but, together 

 with numerous Tetraones and Cocks, we find the remains of several Harfangs. 

 Were these last eaten by Man ? or did they inhabit the vicinity ? I am inclined 

 to prefer the latter hypothesis, because on not one bone have I found the marks 

 of the flint implements which served for detaching the flesh. It seems, on the 

 contrary, that the men of the Lherm Cave ate this Owl ; nearly all the bones 

 there bear the traces of stone knives : Tetraones abound also at Lherm, while 

 other Birds are rare, or only represented by a small number of remains. At Le 

 Moustier the presence of Birds seems to be accidental, as well as in the Caves of 

 the Gorge d'Enfer. At Lacombe-Tayac, I should be disposed to believe that it 

 was principally streams of water that carried in these remains ; for there are but 

 few bones of edible species there, while a great variety of Passeres are observed 

 numerous Choughs and several Rapaces, some of which have been determined by 

 a single bone only. 



The deposit at Bruniquel appears to have been formed under the same influ- 

 ences ; and Man cannot have been the sole cause of the transport of the bones 

 found there. At Massat edible birds do not seem to be more numerous than the 

 other species, while at Gourdan we see them predominate. 



