For food during the long winter months, the Iroquois gathered nuts, berries and root vegetables from their woodland environment. They also harvested maple syrup, sourced medicinal plants and hunted or fished for meat. Construction materials for Iroquois housing, including timber, elm bark and tree fiber ropes, were also obtained from the woodland. Clothing typically utilized the hides of woodland animals, such as deer, sewn together with bone needles. Animal bones were used to make a variety of other tools and weapons, along with wood, stone and clay.
