The Gadigal clan of the Eora nation lived in and around The Rocks’ area at the time of colonisation. It is impossible to ascertain how long they and their ancestors had been living here; the oldest archaeological sites in the Sydney region are around 15,000 years old—more than four times the age of the Egyptian pyramids—and it is likely that the area was occupied up to 50,000 years ago. Australian Aboriginal coastal peoples have a long association with whales, considering stranded whales an important economic resource; they used whale fat to varnish spears, boomerangs and tools, and whalebones to manufacture many items, from utensils and weapons to shelters. Rock engravings and paintings, some estimated to be over 1,000 years old, as well as contemporary stories show the strong relationship between the Eora, whales and the Dreaming. Whale rock carvings were abundant in and around Sydney Harbour before colonisation, and over 1,000 can be viewed in the harbour and wider Sydney region today.