Living with the volcano: The 11th century ad eruption of sunset crater

The multidisciplinary study has compared geological and archaeo-logical data with oral tradition records of the last prehistoric eruption of Mt Pinatubo. Each major plinian Pinatubo eruption overloaded the watersheds on the volcano with great volumes of pyroclastic materials, thereby initiating a period of accelerated sedimentation. The huge lahar events of the prehistoric eruptions of Mt Pinatubo shaped the surrounding environment in major ways. At the mouths of the Pampanga and Santo Tomas rivers, respectively east and west of the volcano, lahars infilled shallow coastal bays. Beach ridges along the north-east coast of Manila Bay diverge north-westward. The eruptive history may have played a role in the settlement of the Santo Tomas River region. The socio-economic environment at the time of the Buag eruption period still requires detailed study, particularly in terms of the nature and form of connections with China and other South-east Asian kingdoms.