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The Role of Marine Resources in the Diet of Pre-Colonial Aboriginal People and Land Use Patterns Around Port Jackson, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

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Trekking the Shore

Part of the book series: Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology ((IDCA))

Abstract

At the time of British colonisation in January 1788, numerous related clans each associated with specific tracts of land and belonging to several language groups lived in the Sydney region. They were mobile fishers, hunters and gatherers and the foods they ate, raw materials used and how they obtained them differed according to the environment in which they lived – whether along the coast or in the coastal hinterland (Attenbrow 2010b). In this paper I discuss the use of marine resources by people living adjacent to the ocean and estuarine shorelines – particularly those living around the shores of Port Jackson. Marine products were also used as raw materials for tools and weapons, but my discussions are restricted to their use as items of food.

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Acknowledgements

I wish to acknowledge funding from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Studies and Mosman Council, the assistance of National Parks & Wildlife Service and Cammeray landowners, and the work of many volunteers who helped in excavations and sorting of excavated materials. Thanks to Australian Museum scientific staff for their assistance in identifying biological specimens and providing information: Phil Colman and Ian Locke in Malacology, Tom Trinski and Mark McGrouther in Ichthyology, Tim Flannery, Sandy Ingleby and the late Linda Gibson in Mammals, Alan Greer in Herpetology. Many thanks also to Fiona Roberts drew the map for Fig. 20.1 at short notice.

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  1. Australian Museum, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Val Attenbrow

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  1. Val Attenbrow
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Correspondence to Val Attenbrow .

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  1. Fac. Ciências Humanas e Sociais (FCHS), Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, Faro, 8005-139, Portugal

    Nuno F. Bicho

  2. Dept. Anthropology, University of Louisville, Louisville, 40292, Kentucky, USA

    Jonathan A. Haws

  3. Oregon State University, Corvallis, 97331, Oregon, USA

    Loren G. Davis

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Attenbrow, V. (2011). The Role of Marine Resources in the Diet of Pre-Colonial Aboriginal People and Land Use Patterns Around Port Jackson, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. In: Bicho, N., Haws, J., Davis, L. (eds) Trekking the Shore. Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8219-3_20

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