Which of the following statements accurately describes the oral traditions (transmitted through speech and song) of pre-Columbian North America (that is, North America before the arrival of Europeans)?
A. None of the indigenous oral traditions used metaphors or abstract language.
B. Oral traditions were used to tell stories, but not to transmit rules or laws. Rules and laws were written down.
C. There was a wide variety of long-standing oral traditions on the continent.
D. There were no traditions of formal speechmaking on the continent.