Editing Skinning (section)

==Animal skins and Native Americans==
[[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] used skins for many purposes other than decoration, clothing and blankets. Animal skin was  a staple in the Native Americans' daily lives. It was used to make tents, to build boats, to make bags, to create musical instruments such as drums, and to make [[quiver]]s.<ref>Pritzer, Barry. A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Print.</ref>

Since Native Americans were practiced in the means of acquiring and manipulating animal skin, [[fur trading]] developed from contact between them and Europeans in the 16th century. Animal skin was a valuable currency which the Native Americans had in excess and would trade for things such as iron-based tools and tobacco which were common in the more developed European areas.<ref>{{cite news | author = Carlos, Ann M., Frank D. Lewis | author-link = Ann M. Carlos, Frank D. Lewis | title = The Economic History of the Fur Trade: 1670 to 1870 | date = February 1, 2011 | work = [[EH.net encyclopedia]] | url = http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/carlos.lewis.furtrade | access-date = March 17, 2013 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130308055848/http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/carlos.lewis.furtrade | archive-date = March 8, 2013 }}</ref> Beaver hats became very popular towards the end of the 16th century, and skinning beavers was necessary to acquire their wool. In this time, the beaver skin drastically rose in demand and in value. However, the high number of beavers being harvested for their [[Fur|pelts]] led to a depletion of beavers, and the industry had to slow down.<ref>{{cite news | author = Carlos, Ann M., Frank D. Lewis | author-link = Ann M. Carlos, Frank D. Lewis | title = The Economic History of the Fur Trade: 1670 to 1870 | date = February 1, 2011 | work = [[EH.net encyclopedia]] | url = http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/carlos.lewis.furtrade | access-date = March 17, 2013 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130308055848/http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/carlos.lewis.furtrade | archive-date = March 8, 2013 }}</ref>