Final answer:
Between 600 C.E. and 1450 C.E., the indigenous peoples of the Americas traded goods like silver, tobacco, and corn beer, which were ritual items that later became commodified by Europeans. The Columbian Exchange introduced new agricultural products to the Americas and also brought American goods to the global market. This trade was crucial in shaping both the material culture of indigenous peoples and the early development of commercial capitalism.
Step-by-step explanation:
Between 600 C.E. and 1450 C.E., the Americas were part of a burgeoning trade network that would later be transformed by the arrival of Europeans and the Columbian Exchange. Indigenous peoples of the Americas traded a variety of goods, some of which held significant cultural value and were used for ritual purposes. With the arrival of Europeans, items like American silver, tobacco, and chicha, a corn beer consumed by the Inca, began to be commoditized and entered the market as goods with monetary value.
The Columbian Exchange saw an unprecedented exchange of commodities, such as animal pelts for European goods like copper kettles, knives, and guns, reshaping native economies and lifestyles. European colonization and trade introduced new agricultural products to the Americas including wheat, grapes, sugar cane, and coffee beans, while from the Americas, crops such as pumpkins, squash, cacao beans, and tomatoes began to be exported. This exchange vastly altered global economies and diets.
In this period, native peoples also began to rely on European trade items, incorporating materials such as copper, kettles, glass beads, metal utensils, and firearms into their daily lives. These exchanges were foundational in shaping the material cultures of native peoples and spurring the beginnings of commercial capitalism.