The period sees an increased reliance on hunting, probably due to the population pressure. Remains have been found of deer, bear, elk, mountain lion, porpoise, fur seal, and sea lion. Fine knives formed by pressure flaking, drills, and fish hooks speak to an increasingly sophisticated technology. Burials now have more artifacts, including objects made of bone, and ornaments. Evidence of alliances and warfare.
Staples are fish and acorns.
In Santa Barbara, the local province capital was Syuhtun, with 800 inhabitants. There was, however, an increasing division of labor, for instance for making huge soapstone jars and bowls, and finely wrought and patterned ornaments. Burials are increasingly elaborate, recent finds include a large swordfish headdress. A continental drought provokes wide-ranging migrations. The Gabrielinos, who speak Shoson, a Uto-Aztec language, come down from the Mojave and settle in the Los Angeles basin, displacing the Hokan speakers, relatives of the Chumash.