We investigate the relative sensitivities of several tests for deviations f
rom Gaussianity in the primordial distribution of density perturbations. We
consider models for non-Gaussianity that mimic that which comes from infla
tion as well as that which comes from topological defects. The tests we con
sider involve the cosmic microwave background (CMB), large-scale structure,
high-redshift galaxies, and the abundances and properties of clusters. We
find that the CMB is superior at finding non-Gaussianity in the primordial
gravitational potential (as inflation would produce), while observations of
high-redshift galaxies are much better suited to find non-Gaussianity that
resembles that expected from topological defects. We derive a simple expre
ssion that relates the abundance of high-redshift objects in non-Gaussian m
odels to the primordial skewness.