Archeological data from coastal California show a record of human exploitation of Chendytes lawi for at least 8,000 years.

Chendytes bones have been identified in archaeological assemblages from 14 coastal sites, including two on San Miguel Island and 12 in mainland localities.

[3] Hundreds of Chendytes bones and egg shells found in Pleistocene deposits on San Miguel Island have been interpreted as evidence that some of these island fossil localities were nesting colonies, one of which Guthrie dated to about 12,000 14C years (about 13,500–13,000 calibrated years B.P.).

[3] There is nothing in the North American archaeological record indicating a span of exploitation for any megafaunal genus remotely as long as that of Chendytes.

[3] Although originally thought to be a seaduck in the tribe Mergini, analysis of ancient DNA sequences suggests that it is a basal member and a sister to the clade of extant dabbling ducks in the tribe Anatini, revealing an additional example of convergent evolution of characters related to feeding behavior among ducks.