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Why were plows pulled by large draft animals not used in the Americas?

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A group of Native American men in colorful traditional regalia with feathered headdresses dance outdoors at a powwow ceremony on a grassy field. — Indigenous peoples of the Americas Performers at a Canadian powwow, c. 2008.

Plows pulled by large draft animals were not used in the Americas primarily because the region lacked native animal species that possessed the appropriate size and temperament for such heavy traction work. While Indigenous peoples of the Americas successfully domesticated several animals—such as the llama, alpaca, and guinea pig—none of these were suitable for pulling a plow.1

Because of this absence of large, gregarious, or herding draft animals, agricultural technologies reliant on heavy traction remained unknown in the Americas until the arrival of European colonizers. Following the introduction of species like horses, cattle, and oxen during the Columbian Exchange, plowing became feasible in the Americas for the first time. Prior to this, Indigenous agriculturalists utilized alternative methods, such as slash-and-burn agriculture, foot plows, and hoes, to manage their diverse environments and support dense populations.12