Images above from the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, Volume 38, August 2021, 103065. 3000-year-old shark attack victim from Tsukumo shell-mound, Okayama, Japan.
With the recent shark attacks in the Molokai Channel and Catalina Channel, and many more shark encounters and sightings by ocean swimmers, I was wondering since when have there been shark attacks on humans?
It seems for quite some time.
Ancient shark attacks have been documented. These reports vary from 5th century Greek writings to 8th century BC illustrations of shark attacks.
But shark attacks happened even before then.
The oldest documented victim is a man who was killed 3,000 years ago during Japan’s Jōmon period (c. 14,000 and 300 BC). The man’s remains were found near the Seto Inland Sea in 1920 by researchers [see images above]. Based on the bite patterns on the Jōmon man’s skeleton and reports of more modern attacks in the region, the most probable shark was either a great white shark or a tiger shark.
Marine biologists have noted that great white sharks have a historical presence in the Seto Inland Sea.*
The skeleton of the Jōmon man, known as Tsukumo No. 24 (or Individual No. 24), was discovered in 1920 in a shell mound cemetery from the Tsukumo archaeological site in Japan’s Okayama Prefecture, near Shikoku Island. The skeleton dates back to between 1370 and 1010 BC. Researchers found over 790 deep, serrated injuries, including puncture wounds and deep gouges that reached his bone. These wounds are consistent with a large shark attack.
It was assumed that Tsukumo No. 24 was likely a fisherman or diving for shellfish when he was attacked. Scientists from Oxford University believe he lost his left hand trying to defend himself as the shark severed his leg and tore into his abdomen, resulting in a rapid, fatal death. The use of forensic techniques in 2021, including 3D modeling of the bite marks, was crucial in confirming that the injuries were from a shark and that the man was alive during the attack.
After the attack, colleagues were able to recover his body, although his right leg was never found. His remains were given a proper burial in the community cemetery.
The Seto Inland Sea of Japan, with its abundance of marine life, saw a series of shark attacks in the 1990s that were carried out by great white sharks. Unprovoked attacks remain rare, but apparently over history have never dropped to zero. Since I will be swimming in the Seto Inland Sea in 2026 during the Swim Shikoku, I will use a swim streamer as a shark deterrent (as seen in the Channel Swim Japan video below).
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