Before the Numenoreans Came - Page 8
© Michael Martinez
The encounter with Vëantur implies that the Eriadorians spoke the same language, and yet that language had in more than 700 years begun to drift away from the Adunaic of the Numenoreans. So the inference that the Eriadorian Edain had maintained or developed a cultural unity is a strong one. They would have freely exchanged stories and songs, retained the same traditions and memories, practiced the same customs, and probably continued the ancient Edainic custom of marrying their sons and daughters (at least among their chieftains) to families from other communities in order to build or maintain strong bonds.
These Edain buried their dead in mounds, and most likely lived in fortified towns and villages, raising sheep, cattle, and (very possibly, the few Marachians in Eriador) horses. They would be mostly farmers and woodsmen, supporting a small cadre of craftsmen. They would have been ripe for learning new skills and trades from the Numenoreans. They should have seemed very much to the Numenoreans like their ancestors in Beleriand, and Eriador may have provided curious adventurers like Aldarion a glimpse into the past.
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