What kind of food did the Chumash Native Americans eat?

The Chumash, a Native American people indigenous to the Central and Southern California coasts, ate mainly shellfish, sharks, seabass, halibut and other fish. They also enjoyed acorns, pine nuts, game birds, deer, and other small mammals. They made flour by pulverizing the dried fruit of the laurel sumac.

A special cooking method made acorns, normally toxic to humans, a main food source for the Chumash. By employing tomol plank canoes, an advanced canoe design, the Chumash fished for deep water fish, such as swordfish, in large numbers. Additionally, the canoes facilitated trade, opening up more food sources and supply routes.