(RepublicanNews.org) – The upcoming August edition of the Journal of Archaeological Science (JAS) contains a study about the discovery of the human remains of a shark attack victim from a Tsukumo shell-mound in Okayama, Japan. That in of itself isn’t particularly remarkable. However, scientists determined the attack occurred about 3,000 years ago.
Sharks are some of the oldest creatures on earth. The World Wide Fund for Nature reported that fossilized sharks date back 400 million years. More than a thousand species currently roam the Seven Seas. They’re majestic predators who have been attacking humans for thousands of years.
3000-year-old shark attack victim from Tsukumo shell-mound, Okayama, Japan. Oldest previously known case dating to CE 1000, this adult male is dated to 1370–1010 BCE during the fisher-hunter-gatherer Jōmon period, was buried at Tsukumo near Seto Inland Seahttps://t.co/Fx3lnPi3Mq pic.twitter.com/NGCtjFzcyy
— Alfons López Tena 🦇 (@alfonslopeztena) June 27, 2021
Not to get too gory, but the JAS report stated the man sustained at least 790 wounds in the attack. Scientists believe he was alive at the time. Carbon dating placed the remains back in the fisher-hunter-gatherer period in Japan from 1370 to 1010 BC. That makes this shark attack the oldest one recorded in human history — at least so far.
Scientists created a 3-D model of the victim’s body, complete with wounds, to study the nature of the attack. They believe either a white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) or a tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) was responsible for the man’s death.
Apparently, fellow fishermen retrieved part, but not all, of his remains and buried him in the Tsukumo cemetery where archeologists discovered him thousands of years later.
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