Final answer:
Indigenous Americans selectively adapted European innovations such as firearms, tools, and horses into their cultures. Indigenous Australians maintained their hunter-gatherer ways despite potential for agriculture. Indigenous adaptation varied with some resisting change, while others, like the Comanche, empowered themselves through assimilation of new practices and materials.
Step-by-step explanation:
Adaptation to native customs is evident in the ways Indigenous peoples across various regions interacted with and integrated elements from other cultures, including those of European settlers. Indigenous Americans were adept at incorporating beneficial aspects such as firearms, metal tools, and horses into their societies. These items were so thoroughly assimilated that they became central to various Indigenous cultures, often reflected in myths and daily practices. In contrast, the Indigenous peoples of Australia opted to maintain their hunter-gatherer lifestyle despite having access to agricultural practices, prioritizing what suited their environmental and social needs.
In the face of European colonization, Native Americans often adopted European goods, substituting their traditional clothing with European textiles and clay cookware with metal utensils. Despite the Spaniards' attempts to convert Indigenous peoples and assert control, many Native communities resisted, either retaining their religious beliefs or synthesizing them with aspects of Catholicism that were congruent with their existing practices.
Different Indigenous groups responded to colonization in diverse ways. Some, like the Comanche, utilized European-introduced horses to enhance their nomadic lifestyle, positioning themselves as formidable powers capable of negotiating with European entities. However, when adaptation failed, some Native peoples like the Pueblo resisted through revolts to maintain autonomy. Cultural exchanges were also notable in Southeast Asia, where local practices evolved as a result of interaction with Indian culture, although the caste system, for example, was not broadly accepted outside specialized contexts such as Angkor Wat's temple complex.