Book excerpt: The Kumeyaay occupied the largest and most diverse territory of any Native Californian group--from arid deserts to alpine mountains, foothills, and a large expanse of coast, from what is now San Diego County to northern Baja California. Living as complex hunter-gatherers, the Kumeyaay combined elements of both Californian and Southwestern cultures, including an acorn economy, floodwater agriculture, and the production of paddle and anvil pottery. The Early Ethnography of the Kumeyaay includes the pioneering research of three anthropologists of the early part of the twentieth century--Thomas T. Waterman, Leslie Spier, and Edward W. Gifford. An introduction by M. Steven Shackley and Steven Lucas-Pfingst explores the particular perspective brought to the research by these early scholars, contrasted with recent anthropological research in the region.