CAHUILLA

group of Indians who spoke a Uto-Aztecan language and lived in southern California in an inland basin of desert plains and rugged canyons south of the San Bernardino and San Jacinto mountains. Acorns and mesquite, the chief staples of many California Indians, were here plentiful only in a few well-watered areas. The Cahuilla lived in thatched or adobe houses or in sun shelters without walls and were skilled in basketry and pottery. Their social organization was patrilineal and apparently divided into halves, or moieties, which governed such matters as descent and marriage; there were also numerous small bands or clans associated with certain territories. About 900 Cahuilla descendants remained in the late 20th century. Some have prospered from the sale or use of their lands in such resorts as Palm Springs and such vast irrigated agricultural enterprises as those near Salton Sea.