Leporids (Lagomorpha, Mammalia), especially the mountain hare (Lepus timidus) and the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), have been among the most abundant small game in western Europe since the Pleistocene. These animals are preferred prey for more than 40 predators, which increases the chances of finding their skeletal remains at archaeological or natural sites, and in particular karstic formations alternately occupied by Palaeolithic human societies and other predators. Moreover, specific eco‐ethological characteristics for both species also offer the possibility to produce a substantial quantity of their bones accumulated by natural mortality without predation, making it more difficult to identify their origin in the fossil record. Despite this fact, the taphonomic signature of accidental‐natural accumulations of leporids in karsts, such as pitfalls, has never been properly characterised. In order to address these issues, we carried out a detailed taphonomic study of leporid remains in a pitfall without any evidence of human activity, namely at Coulet des Roches (Monieux, Vaucluse, south‐eastern France). At this site, leporids are the most abundant species throughout the Last Glacial Maximum sedimentary sequence. The bone accumulation was analysed in order to determine the most relevant criteria to identify a natural accumulation that results from the accidental fall of individuals in the pitfall. The relative proportions of each species are consistent with their current ethology, and their mortality profiles are compatible with the structure of a living natural population. The completeness rate of the different skeletal portions for both species is relatively high, bones are less fragmented and, unlike what might be expected, very few anatomical connections were preserved. The observed anatomical representation, breakage, and bone surface modification patterns are discussed and compared with available data concerning accumulations with predation. Taken together, the identified criteria contribute valuable help in the recognition of accidental mortality in the fossil record, as well as to evaluate the proportion of leporid bones accumulated naturally and those accumulated by predation, human or not, in a deposit.

中文翻译：

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识别考古记录中的类脂动物的意外自然死亡：对陷阱的Tapolonomical分析得出的见解，没有人类存在的证据

孢子虫（Lagomorpha，哺乳动物），尤其是野兔（Lepus timidus）和欧洲兔（穴兔（Oryctolagus cuniculus）），这是自更新世以来西欧最丰富的小型游戏之一。这些动物是40多个捕食者的首选猎物，这增加了在考古或自然地点发现其骨骼遗骸的机会，尤其是旧石器时代人类社会和其他捕食者交替占领的岩溶地层。此外，这两种物种的特定生态伦理学特征还提供了通过自然死亡积累大量骨骼而无需捕食的可能性，这使得在化石记录中识别其起源变得更加困难。尽管有这个事实，但岩溶中岩溶偶然自然堆积（例如陷阱）的Tapolonomic标志从未得到正确表征。为了解决这些问题，我们在一个没有人类活动证据的陷阱中对卵石样遗骸进行了详细的染色体组学研究，即在Coulet des Roches（Monieux，Vaucluse，法国东南部）。在这个站点上，leporids是最后一个冰川最大沉积序列中最丰富的物种。为了确定最相关的标准，以分析自然积聚，该自然积聚是由于个体意外掉入陷阱而导致的，因此对骨积聚进行了分析。每个物种的相对比例与其当前的行为学相符，其死亡率与自然生活种群的结构相适应。两种物种的不同骨骼部分的完整率都相对较高，骨头的碎片较少，并且与预期不同，保留了很少的解剖学联系。讨论了观察到的解剖学表现，断裂和骨表面修饰模式，并将其与有关掠食性堆积的可用数据进行了比较。综上所述，确定的标准为识别化石记录中的意外死亡，以及评估自然堆积的和由人类捕食与否捕食而堆积的卵磷脂骨骼的比例提供了宝贵的帮助。