The cultivating hoe is a very important tool in the survival to the Cherokees because it was key to growing crops for nutrition. As said by C. Margaret Scarry and John F. Scarry (2005) in their article, "The Native Americans of south-eastern North America are sometimes described as gardeners and sometimes as agriculturalists. Neither label conveys an accurate sense of farming practices that employed polycropping and shifting cultivation to produce substantial surpluses" (p. 1). These hoes were made from rocks that were located along the sides of rivers or even in the river. the craftsmanship of these tools did not take much to do but it took a lot of energy for the maker. It took so much energy because the rocks that were used for these cultivating hoes were very tough, durable rocks. Before this tool the Cherokees had to use sticks and their bare hands to dig enough for their seeds to be planted which caused them to have more time for less land than they could have done. This tool was a life changer in the South because the soil there was not soft whatsoever so making this tool helped them be able to dig through this rough land.