Prehistoric Squash (Cucurbita pepo L.) from the Salton Basin
Philip J. Wilke, University of California, Riverside
Thomas W. Whitaker, United States Department of Agriculture
Eugene Hattori, Washington State University, Pullman

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ABSTRACT:
Almost no direct information is available on the origin and antiquity of agriculture in the Salton Basin. The fact that agriculture is well integrated into the Cahuilla creation story and other tales and myths, and that there are Cahuilla terms for crop plants, suggest that the practice is of some considerable antiquity (Lawton 1974). The plant remains described here, and the context in which they were found, are related to the probable antiquity of agriculture in the basin.