Native American Groups Pre-Colonization

Agricultural Adaptation: Native American tribes adapted farming to local ecosystems, using sustainable systems in fertile regions like the Southeast and Midwest.
Three Sisters Farming: A sustainable intercropping method where corn (support), beans (nitrogen enrichment), and squash (moisture preservation/weed suppression) were grown together.
Innovative Water Use: The Hohokam engineered canal systems in the Southwest, while other groups used "dry farming" techniques to collect moisture in canyon bottoms.
Resource Management: In many large communities, such as the Iroquois, women managed farming. Systems were designed for long-term food security and spiritual harmony with the land.
Economic Activity: Extensive trade networks facilitated the movement of goods and ideas through bartering and currency before European contact.

Member Nations: Consisted of an alliance of $5$ (later $6$ ) nations: Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and the Tuscarora (joined in the early $18^{th}$ century).
Governance: Governed by the Great Law of Peace, establishing a participatory democracy with a Grand Council.
Social Structure: Clan leaders were selected by female elders, granting women significant governing influence.
Strategic Value: The Confederacy balanced internal peace with military might for protection and conquest while maintaining complex trade and agricultural systems.

Eastern Woodlands: Fertile land and rivers favored Three Sisters farming and trade; this region had early European contact.
Southeast: Humid and fertile climate supported Three Sisters farming, permanent villages, and mound building.
Great Plains: Open grasslands supported permanent settlements and Three Sisters farming until the arrival of horses, which led to a nomadic lifestyle using teepees.
Southwest: Hot, dry desert conditions necessitated adobe brick tiered homes and "dry farming" moisture collection systems.
Great Basin: Flat, rocky soil and desert climate resulted in nomadic hunter-gatherer cultures.
California: Diverse microenvironments supported sedentary communities with high levels of cultural complexity through hunting and gathering.
Plateau: Mountainous terrain; tribes used expansive trade networks, borrowed innovations, and became more nomadic after horses were introduced.
Northwest Coast: Ocean and coastal forests supported sea fishing via canoes and wood carving arts such as totem poles.
Arctic: Cold, harsh environment where tribes hunted caribou and sea animals through the ice.

Question: Which TWO of the following farming practices were prevalent among Native American tribes prior to colonization?
- A. fertilization of crops using manure to create more robust yields
- B. planting staple crops together to enrich the soil
- C. using horses and cattle to pull plows to improve efficiency
- D. irrigation and water collection techniques to improve sustainability
Answer: B and D.
Explanation: Neither horses nor cattle were native to the Americas, so manure fertilizer and animal-drawn plows (A and C) were not used by Native farmers. Three Sisters farming (B) and irrigation/water collection (D) were widespread practices.