The prevalence of large game found in association with Middle Paleolithic tools has traditionally biased our ideas of Neanderthal subsistence practices. Studies document the exploitation of small mammals, birds, and plants by Neanderthals, whereas data on aquatic resources are still scarce and data on fish are almost non-existent. This article presents a review of fish remains from 11 Middle Palaeolithic fish bone assemblages from well contextualized sites in Belgium, France and Spain. It explores the nature of the evidence in order to determine whether Neanderthal fished and if so, whether fishing was a casual, opportunistic activity or a systematic practice. The first issue to address is whether archaeological fish remains at any given site represent human activity or not. Our study tests that assertion while enhancing our understanding of the diversity of food alternatives available to Neanderthals at any given site, and their ability to adapt to them. Methodological protocols include quantification, body mass and length estimations, and, whenever possible, spatial distribution of fish remains, taphonomic analyses and inference of the season of death. This methodology constitutes an analytical protocol to assess the contribution of fish to the human diet during the Paleolithic and set apart human-generated fish deposits from those generated by alternative fish accumulators. The evidence gathered so far points essentially to circumstantial fishing by Neanderthals, and the question must necessarily remain open for the moment. Nevertheless, some of the evidence, in particular the presence of large (>1 kg) fish in anthropogenic deposits and the absence of animal digestive traces and gnawing marks on fish bones in such deposits, seems compelling and suggests that Neanderthals could have played a role in the accumulation of some of these remains.

传统上，与旧石器时代中期工具相关的大型博弈盛行使我们对尼安德特人生存实践的观念产生了偏见。研究记录了尼安德特人对小型哺乳动物，鸟类和植物的开采，而关于水生资源的数据仍然很少，而关于鱼类的数据则几乎不存在。本文介绍了来自比利时，法国和西班牙的11个中古石器时代鱼骨组合的鱼遗体。它探索了证据的性质，以确定尼安德特人是否钓鱼，如果是，则是钓鱼，这是偶然的，机会主义的活动还是系统的做法。要解决的第一个问题是在任何给定地点残留的考古鱼是否代表人类活动。我们的研究测试了这种主张，同时增强了我们对尼安德特人在任何给定地点可获得的食品替代品的多样性及其适应能力的理解。方法学方案包括量化，体重和体长估计，以及在任何可能的情况下，鱼类残骸的空间分布，染色体分析和推断死亡季节。这种方法学构成了一种分析方案，用于评估旧石器时代鱼类对人类饮食的贡献，并将人类产生的鱼类沉积物与其他鱼类蓄积者产生的沉积物区分开。到目前为止，收集到的证据基本上表明了尼安德特人的间接捕捞，而且这个问题暂时必须保持开放。不过，有一些证据，特别是存在大（>