Archaeological and Biogeochemical Investigation of Past Human Relationships With Now‐Endangered Fish Species: Lake Sturgeon and American Eel in Southern Ontario, Canada

ABSTRACT This paper explores the historical ecology and biogeography of two fish species that are currently endangered in the North American Great Lakes region, that were of great importance to the Indigenous people in the region, and that are the focus of ongoing conservation efforts on the part of descendant communities: lake sturgeon ( Acipenser fulvescens ) and American eel ( Anguilla rostrata ). We compile existing zooarchaeological presence and abundance data for these species from 69 Late Woodland period (c. 900–1650 ce ) archaeological sites, relating to part of the traditional Wendat homelands, and assemble 120 previously collected stable carbon ( δ 13 C) and nitrogen ( δ 15 N) isotope compositions from 30 sites in the region. We map past distribution and abundance of eel and sturgeon and investigate the types of waterbodies they inhabited as reflected in stable isotope compositions. Our results demonstrate that eel and sturgeon were widely, though unevenly, represented across the area in the Late Woodland period. We discuss how the stable isotope and osteological frequency data allow us to better consider the past biogeography of these species in comparison with the more limited abundance and distribution of these species today, and we consider how these data can aid in contemporary conservation initiatives.