Chapter 2 Study Questions

  1. What is unique about the status of early technology in the Americas?
  2. Name at least two significant achievements which resulted from early engineering technology/skill in the Americas.
  3. Contrary to popular belief, why has the development of agriculture not always been the primary factor behind the process of more permanent settlement in one place?
  4. What particular environmental aspect might have triggered the domestication of plants?
  5. What are the “three sisters”?
  6. What type(s) of societal contribution can be seen today as a direct result of Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge of plants?
  7. Name two key points of significance behind the Head-Smashed-In buffalo jump site in southern Alberta.
  8. Although it appears that European domestication of animals surpassed that of Indigenous Peoples, this does not suggest that Indigenous Peoples did not control animals in a variety of ways. Identify and explain ways in which Indigenous Peoples managed animal resources.
  9. Define both egalitarian society and hierarchical society. Provide an example of each.
  10. Rather than being undertaken for purely economic reasons, what social functions did trading practices fulfill? Further, what were the primary functions of gift-giving? Why was “exchange” also important for treaty agreements?
  11. What are the key differences when it comes to identifying concepts of “wealth” and wealth accumulation practices of Indigenous societies during the time period covered in this chapter? How do those practices compare to those of modern Canadian society today?
  12. What was the approximate population and geographical size of the Wendat Confederacy?
  13. What is another name for the Haudenosaunee Confederacy?
  14. When it came to warfare, how would you compare the underlying factors between Indigenous warfare and that between European nations at the time?
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