The economy of tribal society was still essentially that of band society, since for much of the year tribes had to split off into hunting-gathering bands. But during certain months of the year gardening, centering around the cooperative activities of women organized into large matrilocal clan units, and to a lesser extent the cooperative activities of the men organized into large scale joint-band tribal hunts, produced a new mode of production. These new productive modes were only seasonal, but they nonetheless produced an increase in population density and influenced the organization of-tribal political and social life substantially.