Compile: Mintina
The "Cave Man" who lives in simplicity
Photo courtesy of Vincent Carelli, Corumbiara
The Cave Man excavated his last dwelling in the Amazon rainforest. For 26 years, the indigenous man lived alone and isolated from the rest of his tribe, and on August 23, local officials found him dead in a hammock.
BBC media reported that he was the last member of a native tribe in the Rondônia region, a native tribe in the indigenous settlement of Tanaru, adjacent to the Bolivian border. Brazil's Department of Indigenous Affairs (FUNAI) first learned of his presence in 1996 and soon began monitoring the area where he lived to keep him safe.
The media article wrote that FUNAI found his body in a hammock covered by macaw feathers. His physical appearance showed no signs of violent injuries. Marcelo dos Santos, an expert on local ethnic groups, told local media that the male most likely used the feathers to prepare for his own death.
Santos said he expected the man to die 40-50 days before government officials discovered his body. It is believed that he is around the age of 60.
FUNAI agency personnel met the person in 2018 and took a picture
Photo courtesy of FUNAI, BBC Media
Why "Cave Man"?
Officials told BBC Media that at the time of his death, there were no signs of invasion of the man's territory. There was no sign of being disturbed inside his woolly house. The media said the final autopsy report would reveal whether he had a disease.
The name "Cave Man" derives from his penchant for digging deep holes anywhere in his life. Some of the ten-meter-deep pits looked like hunting traps, but he dug one out of about 50 huts he built.
One of dozens of huts he built
Photo courtesy of J Pessoa/Survival International
Members of the FUNAI agency where his remains were found believed the caves had important spiritual significance for the man. Others believe he used it as a place to hide.
The man dug holes in the jungle, perhaps to catch wild boars and other animals
Photo courtesy of J Pessoa/Survival International
Other evidence shows that he not only hunted, but also collected and planted crops. BBC Media reported that he sowed corn and cassava in his territory and picked honey and fruits such as papayas and bananas.
The "Cave People" live in their own territories under the protection of the government. The Brazilian Constitution gives indigenous ethnic groups the right to own the land on which they live in their traditional lives. The Brazilian government first severely restricted access to the land where he lived, which in 1998 was designated as an indigenous settlement area in Tanaru.
Protect the lands of the Tanaru ethnic group
But the written stipulation does not mean that the "cave people" will not be invaded by outsiders. In the early 1970s, the farmer killed many of his people in order to expand his territory. The government's efforts to protect its territory – 80.7 km2/8,070 ha – may only be theoretically successful. Tensions in the Amazon often involve violence.
In 2009, funai revealed the fact that there was continued destruction in the area, which government workers believed was "a threat to the 'cave man' and the FUNAI agency that protected him," the BBC reported. They then found the ammunition barrel section at this location.
With the death of the "Cave Man", the fate of the land needs to be balanced. Regulations require that land under control need to prove that the native ethnic group lives here every few years. After the man's death, local human rights groups demanded that the government make Tanaru a permanent protected area.
Source: Sam Anderson