(CNN) An ancient skull dating back more than 6,000 years may have belonged to the earliest known human victim of a tsunami, scientists say.

The Aitape skull -- named after a small coastal town in the north of Papua New Guinea, where it was found -- was discovered in 1929 by Australian geologist Paul S. Hossfeld. Since then, archaeologists and anthropologists have been trying to unravel the circumstances that resulted in it ending up there.

The most recent study, published Wednesday, suggests the skull may have belonged to a human who drowned in a tsunami or had his or her grave displaced by the tsunami's waves.

Tracing ancient shorelines

When Gossfield stumbled upon the skull in 1929, he mistakenly believed it belonged to Homo erectus, a prehistoric species of humans originating in Africa.

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