This article highlights a discovery of a new found skull in an area of previously found skulls. There was a great tsunami in the Papua New Guinea, which allowed some archaeologists to uncover an Aitape skull. However, Dr. Goff, an archaeologist, with his team, followed a previous archaeologist’s instructions and map-like details about where he found his skull. In order to successfully be able to find more ancient fragments, they used geochemical analyses. The ancient fragments were to be found in sedimentary rock — the sedimentary rock formed from the tsunami that hit the country thousands of years ago. Dr. Goff and his team found a plethora of sedimentary rocks that were telltale of the history of the area. For example, in one of the sedimentary rocks, they found that there were many diatoms that alluded to the fact that ocean water once drowned the area (tsunami).

The geological significance of this is how relevant geology can be to areas outside of science, principally history, and understanding the Earth we live in. By examining and understanding sedimentary rocks and layers, we can predict many things about the history of the area, the climate, and geochemical standards. For example, by examining the sedimentary rocks, they were able to discover that a tsunami had occurred 6,000 years ago. We take abiotic factors of the environment for granted in our everyday lives — but a deeper and more coherent understanding of geology allows us to see the great impacts it places on our history, present, and future. For example, by discovering ancient fragments, we are able to make great predictions about the past of that area. We are then able to connect it to modern society, and the civilization of that area today, and if the past event (tsunami) has shaped the present state of the area. For future terms, we are able to make predictions, such as if a tsunami will likely occur anytime soon, or if we can expect climate changes that will create more ancient fragments in 6,000 years.

References:

Fleur, Nicholas St. “Ancient Skull May Be History’s Earliest Known Tsunami Victim.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 25 Oct. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/10/25/science/skull-tsunami-victim.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience.