How did the Eora people live?

Answer 1

The Eora people were the hunter-fisher-gatherers of the Sydney coastal basin. As coastal dwellers, they were skilled at harvesting food from the sea. As well as skilfully spearing fish and turtles from the sea, they developed fish traps which they used to herd fish into coastal waterways for easy capture. They navigated the coastal waterways in canoes cut from tree bark. The women were the gatherers, collecting eggs, fruits, nuts and berries.

Rules were determined by women elders, but enforced by the male elders. Young boys were initiated in complex ceremonies in which they were scarred by cicatrices on their chest or back which then identified them as belonging to a particular clan. Corroborees celebrated initiations, or told of hunting exploits.