Like their Chin-Kuki cousins, the Zous had taken to shifting cultivation (jhum) ever since the beginning of their recorded history in the 19th century. They traversed several hill tracts between North-East India and Upper Burma in search of suitable jhum land. They used iron tools (e.g. axe, hoe and dao) to cultivate sturdy Asian rice through rather primitive method – sometimes described as "slash and burn". They obtained their iron tools through barter trade from Manipur and Burma. In the absence of a cash economy, mithun or gayal ("bos frontalis") and rice served as the chief forms of wealth.