The aquatic ecosystems of California were dramatically altered by humans over the past 150 years. The introduction of numerous exotic fish species has made most native freshwater ecosystems of the Central Valley unrecognizable with the replacement of native endemics by alien species. Credible fisheries surveys often postdated environmental alteration and make it difficult to know what the ?natural? ecosystems were like. Because of these types of problems, habitat and faunal restoration projects may depend on intuitive guesswork. In this paper I demonstrate the value of the archaeological record in helping to establish which fish species inhabited the waterways of California before late-Holocene habitat alterations. Case studies include data from archaeological sites on Marsh Creek in Contra Costa County, Putah Creek in Yolo County and an encouraging comparison of ichthyological survey records with the archaeological record of sites beside Cache Creek in Yolo County and Clear Lake in Lake County, California. The archaeological record is a valuable and potentially accurate resource that can be used to document the native fishes that existed prior to European contact.
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