Editing Pre-Columbian era (section)

==Agricultural development==
{{Further|Eastern Agricultural Complex|Agriculture in the prehistoric Southwest|Agriculture on the prehistoric Great Plains|Incan agriculture|Hoe-cultivation belt}}
{{See also|Columbian Exchange|List of pre-Columbian engineering projects in the Americas}}
Early inhabitants of the Americas developed agriculture, developing and breeding wild [[teosinte]] into modern corn. [[Potato]]es, [[cassava]], [[tomato]]es, [[tomatillo]]s (a husked green relative of the tomato), [[pumpkin]]s, [[chili pepper]]s, [[Cucurbita|squash]], [[bean]]s, [[pineapple]], [[sweet potato]]es, the [[Cereal|grains]] [[quinoa]] and [[amaranth]], [[cocoa bean]]s, [[vanilla]], [[onion]], [[peanut]]s, [[Strawberry|strawberries]], [[Raspberry|raspberries]], [[Blueberry|blueberries]], [[Blackberry|blackberries]], [[papaya]], and [[avocado]]s were among other plants grown by natives. Over two-thirds of all types of food crops grown worldwide are native to the Americas.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}}

Early Indigenous peoples began using fire in a widespread manner. Intentional burning of vegetation was taken up to mimic the effects of natural fires that tended to clear forest understories, thereby making travel easier and facilitating the growth of herbs and berry-producing plants that were important for both food and medicines. This created the [[pre-Columbian savannas of North America]].<ref name="Owen2002">{{cite web |url=http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/sustain/report/terra2/terra2.htm |title=Chapter 2 (TERRA–2): The History of Native Plant Communities in the South |last=Owen |first=Wayne |work=Southern Forest Resource Assessment Final Report |publisher=[[United States Department of Agriculture]], [[United States Forest Service]], Southern Research Station |date=8 December 2013}}</ref>

While not as widespread as in [[Afro-Eurasia]], indigenous Americans did have [[livestock]]. [[Domesticated turkey]]s were common in Mesoamerica and some regions of North America; they were valued for their meat, feathers, and, possibly, eggs. There is documentation of Mesoamericans utilizing hairless dogs, especially the [[Xoloitzcuintle]] breed, for their meat. Andean societies had [[llama]]s and [[alpaca]]s for meat and wool, as well as for [[Working animal|beasts of burden]]. [[Guinea pig]]s were raised for meat in the [[Andes]]. [[Iguana]]s and a range of wild animals, such as deer and [[pecari]], were another source of meat in Mexico, Central, and northern South America.

By the 15th century, maize had been transmitted from [[Mexico]] and was being farmed in the [[Mississippi embayment]], as far as the [[East Coast of the United States]], and as far north as southern Canada. Potatoes were used by the Inca, and [[chocolate]] was used by the Aztecs.