as also used for rituals, curing, and recreational activities. A communal men's sweathouse and several granaries were also located within the village.
Hunting was the main occupation of the men, and they did the butchering and skinning as well. The women did the cooking and meat was roasted, boiled, or cut into strips and sun-dried. Bones were cracked to extract marrow or crushed and ground into a powder and mixed with other foods. Blood was either drunk fresh or cooked and stored in a leather pouch or section of gut (Bean 578). Proto-agricultural techniques and a marginal agriculture existed among the Cahuilla. Corn, beans, squashes, and melons were commonly raised. Other plants provided construction materials for houses, while over 200 plants were used for medicinal purposes and to stimulate physical activities (such as tobacco and datura).
Grinding acorns and dried berries was done in stone mortars with stone pestles. Wooden mortars were used to grind soft, fibrous foods like honey mesquite. It was the duty of the women to sift flourlike materials in baskets. Sun-drying allowed for the preservation of fruits, blossoms,
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