Foods Edible plants domesticated by Native Americans have become major staples in the diets of peoples all around the world. Such foods include corn (maize), manioc, potatoes, sweet potatoes, peanuts, squashes and pumpkins, tomatoes, papayas, avocados, pineapples, guavas, chili peppers, chocolate (cacao), and many species of beans.

Animals Native Americans were the first to raise turkeys, llamas, guinea pigs, and honeybees for food.

Non-edible plants Other plants of great importance developed by Native Americans include cotton, rubber, and tobacco.

Medicines The Quechua peoples of Peru discovered the medicinal use for quinine. Also, Canadian Indians knew how to prevent scurvy by eating plants rich in vitamin C, and they passed this information along to the Europeans.

Mathematics The Mayans of Mexico appear to have been the first to use the zero in mathematics. Scholars believe that Asians traveled across the Pacific Ocean and learned about the zero from the Maya.