Prehistory: Tools

Iron tools enabled the continuation of old ways with more efficiency and without change to traditional foodways. Other tools altered peripheral tasks without affecting food. Axes, for example, allowed Native Americans to fell large trees more efficiently, to cut and process large trees, and to change fuel-gathering processes without affecting fires or cooking principles. The use of other European goods implied a change in foodways and some acceptance of European culture. These tools included shallow and deep frying pans that added frying to Native American repertoires, portable braziers for broiling, and forks, which changed table manners.