"One man dies, and an entire untouched tribe disappears in Brazil." The New York Times reported on August 29 that officials from the Brazilian Bureau of Indigenous Affairs (FUNAI) confirmed on the 27th that an indigenous person living deep in the Amazon rainforest known as "Cave Man" (Indio do Buraco) has recently died.
The last survivor of an unknown tribe in the Brazilian rainforest, the Cave Man, also known to the outside world as "the loneliest man in the world," meant Brazil witnessed the demise of the first recorded untouched tribe.
Screenshot of the New York Times report
The "Cave People" strongly resisted outside contact, so no one knew his name, race and language. His age is also unknown, and it is speculated from his appearance that he is about 60 years old. The term "cave man" comes from the habits of this indigenous man, who always digs a hole in the hut he built for unknown purposes.
The Brazilian Aboriginal Affairs Authority reported that when staff patrolled the indigenous area of Rondônia State in Tanarú on the 23rd, they found the body of the indigenous man lying in a hammock in a hut, and the cause of death was unknown. No traces of anyone else's presence were found near the huts, and there were no signs of a fight at the scene. The agency therefore speculates that the "cave people" are likely to have died of natural causes.
The agency said in a statement that crime experts had rushed to the scene to investigate, and the remains of the indigenous man would then be sent to the capital, Brasilia, for autopsy. An anonymous official said the Aboriginal Affairs Authority would also conduct DNA testing on the bodies and would return them to the Amazon rainforest for burial after the work was completed.
According to the report, the body of the "cave man" is also covered with many feathers, so some experts believe that he may have been prepared for death. "Is he waiting for his own death?" Marcelo dos Santos, an expert on indigenous Brazilians, said, "No one can tell. We never had any communication, not even with people from other tribes, without being able to get to know him better. So we can't be sure why. ”
The Brazilian Authority for Indigenous Affairs first discovered the "Cave Man" in the indigenous area of Tanalu in the state of Rondônia in 1996, but the latter was reluctant to interact with the outside world. "We traveled all over the area and found the house where he had taken refuge." Santos recalls, "We wanted to build a conversation that offered some corn and arrows, but he was very scared and showed aggression. We have to respect his isolation. ”
According to records collected by Santos, the tribe to which the Cavemen belonged also had contact with nearby farmers in the 1970s, but the tribe was later attacked several times by invaders. Eventually, in an attack in the early 1990s, about 6 of the tribe's remaining members were shot, making the Cave People the only survivor of the tribe and "the loneliest man in the world."
But because the indigenous man refused to communicate with the outside world, no one knew his name, tribal name, language, culture and other information. From the appearance, he is estimated to be about 60 years old.
Infographic: In 2018, staff of the Brazilian Indigenous Affairs Authority took photos of "cave people" during a chance encounter
The term "cave man" derives from the aboriginal habit of digging holes everywhere. Brazil's "G1" news network said that in 26 years, the staff of the Brazilian Indigenous Affairs Agency found that he had built 53 huts, each of which had a hole in the ground. Confusingly, though, cave people never sleep in a cave or put anything in it.
"The first thing he's going to do is dig a hole and then build the house." Altair Algayer, coordinator of the Indigenous Affairs Authority, who monitors the Cave People, recalls, "Obviously, this behavior had no effect in our eyes. But I guess it may have something to do with his beliefs. ”
Santos mentioned that the ornaments and utensils used by the Cave People were very similar to those of the indigenous groups in the Tanalu area, except that the caves inside the houses were distinctive. Some analysts have speculated that the caverns inside the huts may also be the hiding places used by the "cave people" for refuge.
According to the BBC, "cavemen" also dig holes in the jungle, some of which are equipped with spikes at the bottom, which are generally considered to be traps for hunting. In addition, the staff of the Aboriginal Affairs Administration found that the "cavemen" would grow crops such as corn and cassava or fruits such as papayas and bananas outside some huts, and would also collect honey.
The huts built by the Cave Men in the rainforest are from the Brazilian Indigenous Affairs Authority
The hole dug by the "cave man" in the hut Is from the Brazilian "G1" news network
Since 1997, the Brazilian government has taken protective measures to protect about 8,000 hectares of land inhabited by "cave people", restricting the entry of outsiders. However, in 2009, an Aboriginal Affairs Authority post in the area was still attacked by outside armed groups, and the attackers left guns and ammunition at the scene as a threat.
The death of the CaveMen, the last survivor of an unknown primitive tribe, marks brazil's first recorded demise of an untouched tribe. The so-called "untouched tribes" refer to groups that do not have continuous contact with the outside world.
But experts warn that in the absence of knowledge, it is likely that other isolated, untouched tribes have quietly gone extinct.
According to the New York Times, the Brazilian Indigenous Affairs Authority reported signs of activity in at least 114 isolated primitive tribes, of which only 28 primitive tribes were confirmed, and the remaining 86 tribes have not been protected by the Brazilian government. As a result of Brazilian President Bolsonaro's push to cut down the Amazon rainforest, the destruction of the world's largest rainforest is also increasing, posing a greater threat to the survival of the original inhabitants of the rainforest.
"Many of these peoples are extinct, and even the state and society have not yet realized that they are extinct, which is a very serious problem." Guilherme Martins, an expert at the Brazilian Indigenous Affairs Authority, said, "As long as the Authority does not formally identify indigenous peoples, it cannot protect their land, establish bases and cannot demarcate land." ”
Even among the protected indigenous tribes, some could not avoid the fate of extinction. The New York Times mentioned that the Pilipkura tribe living in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso is left with only three survivors, a woman who has been unable to have children and two men, and the tribe is doomed to disappear.
According to the British "Guardian", the number of extant indigenous tribes in Brazil is between about 235 and 300, but the exact number is still unknown due to the fact that some tribes have little contact with non-indigenous societies. At least 30 tribes live deep in the Amazon rainforest, with little knowledge of their numbers, languages or cultures.
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