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Man who died 3,000 years ago with 790 injuries is earliest known shark attack victim
Experts were "initially flummoxed" by what could have caused at least 790 deep, serrated injuries to the man.
"We were initially flummoxed by what could have caused at least 790 deep, serrated injuries to this man."
Researchers initially believed they had a 3,000-year-old murder mystery on their hands. So-called "Tsukumo No. 24," a middle-aged man dated back to between 1370 and 1010 BCE, had suffered unimaginable wounds — 790 of them to be exact. One by one, researchers ruled out stone tools and weapons likely available at the time. Then they moved on to natural predators and scavengers, although the severity of the wounds made most of them unlikely, too.
Then with the help of an expert from Florida, the scientists finally determined that the prehistoric Japanese man was actually the victim of a tiger or white shark — the oldest known victim of his kind in the world. Read more about this staggering find by clicking the link in our profile.
Archaeologists have recreated the brutal death of the earliest known shark attack victim who was killed around 3,000 years ago.
Oxford-led researchers have been investigating evidence for violent trauma on the skeletal remains of prehistoric hunter-gatherers at Kyoto University
Alyssa White and Professor Rick Schulting reviewed the remains of a man riddled with traumatic injuries from the previously excavated site of Tsukumo by the Seto Inland Sea.
In their report, the pair said: "We were initially flummoxed by what could have caused at least 790 deep, serrated injuries to this man.
"There were so many injuries and yet he was buried in the community burial ground…
"The injuries were mainly confined to the arms, legs, and front of the chest and abdomen.
"Through a process of elimination, we ruled out human conflict and more commonly-reported animal predators or scavengers."
Since archaeological cases of shark reports are extremely rare, they turned to forensic shark attack cases for clues and worked with expert George Burgess of the Florida Program for Shark Research.
The team concluded the man, known as No 24, died between 1370 to 1010 BC.
The distribution of wounds strongly suggest the victim was alive at the time of attack; his left hand was sheared off, possibly a defence wound.
No 24's body had been recovered soon after the attack and buried with his people at the cemetery.
And excavation records showed he was also missing his right leg and his left leg was placed on top of his body in an inverted position.
The report added: "Given the injuries, he was clearly the victim of a shark attack.
"The man may well have been fishing with companions at the time, since he was recovered quickly.
"And, based on the character and distribution of the tooth marks, the most likely species responsible was either a tiger or white shark."
The study has been published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.
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