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PAPUA NEW GUINEA

March/April 2018

World Roundup Papua New GuineaPAPUA NEW GUINEA: When the Aitape skull was discovered in 1929, it was mistakenly thought to belong to Homo erectus. But subsequent radiocarbon dating determined it was only around 6,000 years old. Now, a reevaluation of the skull and its findspot has added a new twist. Geochemical analysis of the sediments in which the skull was embedded suggests they were deposited miles inland by a powerful paleo-tsunami, making the skull perhaps part of the world’s oldest known tsunami victim.