Powhatan men hunted geese, swan, wild turkey, rabbit, squirrel and larger animals like deer and bear. In the spring they used nets and spears to catch large quantities of fish. Oysters and scallops were also taken and used for food and the shells were made into tools and jewelry. Men would spend their time in the villages making and repairing their tools and weapons, the most important ones being the bow and arrow, used primarily for hunting game. Local and traded stone materials were worked into axes for chopping and cutting, mortars and pestles for grinding, and flaked into arrow and spear points for hunting. Deer provided meat as well as skins for clothing, bones for tools and weapons, and sinew for fastening tool and weapon parts.

Gathering plants, roots, nuts and fruit was the responsiblility of the women and the children. Powhatan women cooked over outdoor fire pits and soups and stews would be simmmering in large clay pots in the glowing coals on the cook fire. Meats or fish could be added to these stews.After being dried, corn, hickory nuts, acorns, walnuts and chestnuts could be pounded by the women into flour for bread products. Smoking of food was also another method of preservation. These foods were stored in baskets for use in the winter months. The women would make clothing out of deer hides which had been scraped and tanned to soften them.