15 - Native Americans and exchange:

Summary

This chapter considers the record of economic exchange among aboriginals, a record that predates European contact. It then discusses the later and much more extensive trade that took place between natives and Europeans. Trade was not introduced to Native Americans with the arrival of Europeans, but it was greatly expanded, both in terms of number of goods and complexity of trading arrangements. In some parts of North America, especially in California and Pacific Northwest, natives engaged in significant levels of market exchange prior to European contact, and trade was also taking place in the interior of the continent. With the arrival of Europeans, trading by Native Americans increased by orders of magnitude both in volume and variety, and was a major change relative to more limited exchange that had been part of traditional native society. Prior to contact or to significant involvement with Europeans, Native Americans had developed exchange mechanisms that allowed them to better deal with their environment.