Economics of the Iroquois

upplies of wood were undoubtedly more accessible than stone would be for a relatively sedentary, semi-agricultural people like the Iroquois. Available stone would be hard to find, especially since the village would naturally avoid a stony site. On the other hand, land had to be cleared and wood cut in order to prepare the maize fields and procure fuel. Hence, the material for the manufacture of wooden articles was provided without extra trouble. Everything considered, it is not hard to understand why the Iroquois utilized wood as a raw material, rather than stone. To sum up;?the home-country of the Iroquois may be described as a forest region, stocked with an abundant supply of wild animals, fish, nuts, fruits, and roots; at the same time, it was a country of temperate climate, well-watered and fertile, with many open spaces suitable for maize-culture; hence it was an environment favorable to the development of a hunting and fishing and semi-agricultural life. Similar features marked the environment of the cognate tribe of the Hurons. Their territory, the peninsula between Lake Huron and Lakes Erie and Ontario, was somewhat more open and suitable for agriculture than that of the Iroquois, and although the supply of game was scantier; yet, on the other hand, there was even a greater abundance of fish than among the Iroquois. Hence the Hurons would naturally devote themselves somewhat more to maize-culture and fishing, and less to hunting, than was the case among th...