Re:Higher ground (Score 4, Interesting)

In a report on NPR, (and I can't get more specific because I was driving), it was stated that there are little used nerve endings in our knee cartilage that evolved specifically for the purpose of detecting earth tremors. I can remember one time in my life when I sensed a very faint earth tremor (I live in a geologically stable region) and I sensed it through my knees, as I recall (I confirmed it via a news report later). Tribal people, living in a quiet setting, are probably more attuned to the sensations delivered by these nerves. Also, if their ears are very keen (not damaged by headphones, machinery, and too-loud speakers, as mine are), perhaps they could detect infrasonic sounds associated with an earthquate of the extreme magnitude of that one. Animals certainly are very good at detecting infrasonics, so the tribal peoples could have noted animal movements prior to the tsunami.