## 2 Contestable Explanation of the Carnivore Origin of the Holes
It should be noted that we are dealing here with the first example of a bevelled mouthpiece edge. A bevelled mouthpiece edge, which enables better musical performance of the instrument is not known in later Upper Palaeolithic wind instruments, which are made of mammal limb bones. At already thin bone cortex of bird bones, the additional sharpening of the mouthpiece edge is not necessary to achieve better sonority. When defining the holes on the femur diaphysis no. 652, which are the key component of all wind instruments, we have to start from certain findings of research of all cave bear finds, acquired with wet sieving of all sediments during the excavations of [PERSON], as well as from the findings of his fresh bone piercing experiments. In DB, the main damage to the bones was, in addition to humans, made by wolves (all remains belong to 30 individuals at the most) and not cave hyenas (zero specimens and no indirect proof, such as coprolites and digested bones) [25], contra [16]. The complete and partial holes on the femur diaphysis are undoubtedly of mechanical origin. Namely, both have a funnel-shaped inner edge, which occurs during piercing with a tooth or a pointed tool. Experiments show that the compression of the diaphysis with sharp (unworm) teeth or striking it with a pointed tool result in the longitudinal cracking of the compact bone [20]. Longitudinal cracks are present on some of the fossil bones that were undoubtedly pierced by carnivores [16] (Figures 5 and 6 from Reference [16]). Thus, the femur or some other tubular bone, with removed meta- and epiphyses, usually breaks in half longitudinally during piercing and widening of the hole(s) [16] (Figure 6 from Reference [16]). This is, however, not true for compression and piercing with strongly worn teeth and blunt pointed tools. A crack on the posterior side of the femur diaphysis no. 652 (Figure 1), which zigzags longitudinally from one end to the other is only superficial, and occurs during weathering in the course of fossilization. Figure 2: Experimental piercing of a fresh femur of a young brown bear using a bronze model of hyena’s dentition and the ZWICK/Z 050 machine for measuring compressive force (photo [PERSON], ZRC SAZU). It is significantly different from the continuous, rectilinear in-depth crack that occurred on fresh bones during experimental piercing with metal models of carnivore dentition. Since the femur diaphysis no. 652 is not cracked in this way, solely worn teeth or blunt pointed tools can be considered to have produced the holes. Both partial holes, which advocates of the carnivore origin of the holes considered to be evidence of bites, can be explained differently. V-shaped fractures start on both ends of the diaphysis in the partial hole, meaning that the holes came first and both fractures followed (Figure 1). If the fractures had been made simultaneously with the holes, three cracks would certainly have occurred: Two connected to the fracture and the third one on the diaphysis, with its starting point in the remains of the hole [13] (Figure 10.3 and p. 8, point 4 from Reference [13]). There is no third crack on either of the partial holes. Among 550 cave bear femur diaphyses without epiphyses, similar in size to specimen no. 652 from various layers in DB, only two are pierced and none with the V-fracture and a partial hole. Judging from the shape and size of the holes, we agree with [PERSON] [12; 18] that they could have been pierced primarily with canines (Figure 3). [PERSON] [16] believes that all holes in the bones of cave bear from different sites were made exclusively by premolars and molars. According to the first explanation, primarily an adult cave bear is possible, while, according to the second, it would have to be an adult cave hyena which was, like all hyenas, specialised for crushing bones. Frequent in vivo damage on the canine teeth of adult cave bears indicates their rough use.