Reassessing the environmental context of the Aitape Skull – The oldest tsunami victim in the world?

<div><p>There is increasing recognition of the long-lasting effects of tsunamis on human populations. This is particularly notable along tectonically active coastlines with repeated inundations occurring over thousands of years. Given the often high death tolls reported from historical events though it is remarkable that so few human skeletal remains have been found in the numerous palaeotsunami deposits studied to date. The 1929 discovery of the Aitape Skull in northern Papua New Guinea and its inferred late Pleistocene age played an important role in discussions about the origins of humans in Australasia for over 25 years until it was more reliably radiocarbon dated to around 6000 years old. However, no similar attention has been given to reassessing the deposit in which it was found—a coastal mangrove swamp inundated by water from a shallow sea. With the benefit of knowledge gained from studies of the 1998 tsunami in the same area, we conclude that the skull was laid down in a tsunami deposit and as such may represent the oldest known tsunami victim in the world. These findings raise the question of whether other coastal archaeological sites with human skeletal remains would benefit from a re-assessment of their geological context.</p></div

Site location and skeletal remains.

<p>(a) Location of New Guinea in the Pacific Ocean; (b) General study area in northern PNG (red square–see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0185248#pone.0185248.g001" target="_blank">Fig 1C</a>) with tectonic setting [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0185248#pone.0185248.ref026" target="_blank">26</a>], CP: Caroline plate, MT: Melanesian trench, MTB: Mamberamo thrust belt, NBP: New Bismarck plate, NGT: New Guinea trench (arrows show approx. direction of plate movement); (c) Site of Aitape Skull where Paniri Creek exits the Barida Range approx. 11 km inland from Sissano Lagoon. Dashed orange line marks approx. edge of approx. 6000–7000 yr. old coastline [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0185248#pone.0185248.ref020" target="_blank">20</a>]; (d) Aitape cranium: The early Holocene Aitape frontal bone (scale bar at lower right is 2 cm).</p

Metric data for the Maludong femur (MLDG 1678).

<p>¹Calculated by dividing the relevant area by reconstructed body mass, after Ref [<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0143332#pone.0143332.ref034" target="_blank">34</a>].</p><p>Metric data for the Maludong femur (MLDG 1678).</p

Object plot from principal component analysis of 10 continuous variables: PC1 (52.85%) versus PC2 (28.92%) (AMH femora labeled in black; archaic hominins in blue; minimal spanning tree shown).

<p>Object plot from principal component analysis of 10 continuous variables: PC1 (52.85%) versus PC2 (28.92%) (AMH femora labeled in black; archaic hominins in blue; minimal spanning tree shown).</p

Comparison of systematically relevant traits in MLDG 1678¹.

<p>¹Abbreviations: LPHO = Lower Pleistocene <i>Homo</i>; MPHO = Middle Pleistocene <i>Homo</i>; NEAN = Neanderthals; MPMH = Middle Pleistocene Modern Humans; EULU = Early Upper-Late Upper Palaeolithic humans. ST = subtrochanteric region; MS = mid-shaft region; AP = anteroposterior diameter; ML = mediolateral diameter.</p><p>Sample compositions, see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0143332#pone.0143332.s004" target="_blank">S1 Table</a>.</p><p>Comparison of systematically relevant traits in MLDG 1678<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0143332#t002fn001" target="_blank">¹</a>.</p

A Hominin Femur with Archaic Affinities from the Late Pleistocene of Southwest China - Fig 3

<p>Scatterplots comparing sample medians for mid-shaft (MS) variables, size-adjusted variables and mid-shaft/subtrochanteric area index: (A) Anteroposterior (AP) diameter (mm). (B) Mediolateral (ML) diameter (mm). (C) Total area (TA: mm²). (D) Cortical area (CA: mm²). (E) %-Cortical area (%-CA). (F) Size-adjusted total area. (G) Size-adjusted cortical area. (H) Pilastric index (%). (I) Mid-shaft/subtrochanteric (MS/ST) area index (%). (Error bars = 95% confidence interval of median [dark] and 1.5 x interquartile range [light]; Abbreviations: LPHO = Lower Pleistocene <i>Homo</i>; MPHO = Middle Pleistocene <i>Homo</i>; NEAN = Neanderthals; MPMH = Middle Pleistocene Modern Humans; EULU = Early Upper-Late Upper Palaeolithic humans [see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0143332#pone.0143332.s004" target="_blank">S1 Table</a>]).</p

Neighbor-joining tree from an analysis of 10 continuous variables (AMH femora labeled in black; archaic hominins in blue; bootstrap scores are from 100,000 replicates with only those ≥60% shown).

<p>Neighbor-joining tree from an analysis of 10 continuous variables (AMH femora labeled in black; archaic hominins in blue; bootstrap scores are from 100,000 replicates with only those ≥60% shown).</p

Neighbor-joining tree from an analysis of 15 variables (5 discrete and 10 continuous) using comparative sample medians as OTUs.

<p>(Bootstrap scores are from 100,000 replicates; Abbreviations: LPHO = Lower Pleistocene <i>Homo</i>; MPHO = Middle Pleistocene <i>Homo</i>; NEAN = Neanderthals; MPMH = Middle Pleistocene Modern Humans; EULU = Early Upper-Late Upper Palaeolithic humans [see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0143332#pone.0143332.s004" target="_blank">S1 Table</a>]).</p

Symphysis dimensions and shape index of Niah Caves of human mandible D/N5 42–48" from the West Mouth of Niah Caves^a.

<p>Symphysis dimensions and shape index of Niah Caves of human mandible D/N5 42–48" from the West Mouth of Niah Caves<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0196633#t004fn001" target="_blank">^a</a>.</p

Body dimensions and shape index at location of mental foramen (MF) of human mandibles from the West Mouth of Niah Caves^a.

<p>Body dimensions and shape index at location of mental foramen (MF) of human mandibles from the West Mouth of Niah Caves<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0196633#t003fn001" target="_blank">^a</a>.</p