Aquatic resources - especially fish - are considered important in human evolution because they provide omega-3 fatty acids essential for brain development, and their exploitation may have supported dietary flexibility in modern humans (Homo sapiens) compared to Neanderthals, potentially contributing to their replacement in Europe around 45–40 ka.

At the site of Hohle Fels in the Swabian Jura (Germany), excavations have revealed a long sequence from the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic (ca. >62-30 ka) before the Last Glacial Maximum. While terrestrial hunting of large herbivores (e.g., mammoth, reindeer, horse, red deer) appears to have been the primary subsistence strategy, evidence also indicate repeated fish exploitation from the Ach River. Key species include burbot (Lota lota) and grayling (Thymallus thymallus), whose presence throughout the stratigraphic sequence suggests sustained fish exploitation during both the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic.

The current research project aims to apply stable isotope analysis (carbon, nitrogen, sulfur) on fish remains to reconstruct their ecological niches (habitat and trophic level) and track how these changed through time. By comparing Middle and Upper Palaeolithic layers formed under different climatic conditions, the study will assess how environmental change influenced fish ecology and how human fishing strategies may have adapted in response.