Previously Uncontacted Amazon Tribe Photographed

ManicMechanic and other readers sent in news of a tribe of aboriginal people from the border of Peru and Brazil that has been photographed by helicopter for the first time. The images show huts in a village and people in red body paint shooting arrows at the helicopter. The outfit that released the photos, Survival International, works to end illegal logging in the rainforest in order to protect the uncontacted tribes living there. They estimate that 100 uncontacted groups exist worldwide, about half of them in the Amazon basin.

We know who wins this one

Helicopter versus spearmen?

The f#*&ing spearmen.

Re:We know who wins this one

i see you've played civilization and sent a gunship in against an entrenched spearmen unit that's been there since 3800 B.C.

Re:We know who wins this one

OK, no more Civilization 2 for you.

xo

quick, drop some XO's for them, THEY NEEDS THE INTERNETS

Re:xo

Indeed, its an interesting thought though... I mean, everytime a chopper flies over, you could be redefining their entire religion or something.

"Thats the Whirly, God of birds!"

To be a fly on a hut wall

I for one would have loved to have been able to hear and understand the conversation that took place among that tribe after the helicopter passed over.

Re:To be a fly on a hut wall

"there goes the neighborhood"

Re:To be a fly on a hut wall

"Did they just violate the prime directive again? Maybe we can make them give us the secret of warp travel. And a lighter."

Re:To be a fly on a hut wall

They are probably using the term uncontacted very loosely. These people are being driven from Peru closer to the Brazil border by loggers. You don't get driven anywhere without contact of some kind unless just the noise of whatever they're using to cut down the trees is making them move. Maybe they just like to sleep in.

Not necessarily. Actually, if you RTFA, you'll see that this particular tribe is actually growing in numbers, but that other tribes in the area are being driven away by loggers. They don't make a claim that the other tribes are "uncontacted."

Re:To be a fly on a hut wall

I guess many evangelists can't wait to go there to ruin their culture by 'making them see the light'.

Cameras

Those cameras are watching everyone now!

Someone setup a jungle expedition. Those tribesmen need tinfoil hats!

The unknown...

That helicopter is probably some sort of god or devil beast to that tribe now... Thats how religion works you know. You see something you don't understand, (try to) kill it, worship it.

Another link to pictures

news.google.com ... search for amazon ... http://www.ctv.ca/gallery/html/tribe_080530/photo_0.html [www.ctv.ca]

Expert Loses Job

"Members of one of the worlds last uncontacted tribes have been spotted and photographed from the air near the Brazil-Peru border." ... "said uncontacted tribes expert Jose Carlos dos Reis Meirelles Junior." Grats Jose, you just worked yourself out of a job. Some expert you are!

I wonder what they could teach us?

A small Peruvian tribe has taught you: Ceremonial Burial.

Or maybe

A small Chilean tribe has given you: Skilled Warrior.

Wow!

Prime Directive

Hey, isn't flying over with a helicopter, a blatant violation of the Prime Directive?

Neolithic is normal

Let's not forget that these people represent a kind of norm. This biological form that we take right now more or less developed during the long Stone Age -- i.e. most of our unwritten history is in that way of life. It means that the roots of our culture, and perhaps the way our brains are organised, draw sustenance from this long period.

We need these people to be just who they are, unchanged, for our own understanding of ourselves.

The problem is the ethics of contact: do we withhold the benefits of civilization? Is modernization a fair process? It's easy to dismiss a preservationist approach as romanticizing the savage, from your abstracted armchair reality. But, live with tribal peoples for a while, and you realize that short of modern medicine and food surpluses, not only is it not so bad, it has distinct advantages as a lifestyle, and is not so different from our own.

Whatever. I expect them to be overrun, poisoned, shot, and assimilated, then held up as an example of the superiority of civilization.

What the Pictures Tell Us

The BBC has good photos [bbc.co.uk] and a close-up with explanations of the people and objects seen [bbc.co.uk].

Although we do not know the name of the recently discovered tribe in Brazil, or what language they speak, it is possible to tease out some clues as to their way of life from the aerial photographs taken by the Brazilian government. ...

I for one...

...welcome our new spear-wielding overlords.

This is what every Anthropologist dreams about!

You can only imagine a discovery like this is the sort of thing every Anthropologist dreams of. Finding some primitive culture, previously untouched by the outside world. Making contact with the people for the first time. Then showing them the power of the machine gun and overthrowing their chief, then ruling the tribe with an iron fist.

I wonder if

they dropped a Coke bottle from the helicopter and it happened to land within the tribe area. ("The Gods Must Be Crazy")

First Alien Contact Lessons

These tribespeople are giving the rest of our species a valuable lesson in how to greet the aliens when they land.

None of this kumbaiyaa stuff that lets sinister aliens into our arms before we know they'll enslave us. Throw some spears at them to see how serious they are about making contact. If they aren't sophisticated enough to anticipate our violent reaction to their sudden appearance, they won't have anything worth learning that we can't get from just capturing some of their spacecraft. If they're really that superior, they'll take it in stride and calm us down.

And if they're really evil, we'll at least have a chance to fight them off, rather than falling for some kind of "To Serve Man [wikipedia.org]" conjob.

That's exactly how this Amazon contact will play out. Why shouldn't we expect at least as much from our even more distant cousins when they arrive at our little backwater planet?

Re:Prioritize, people!

Well said !!
I am going to stop loggin into Amazon too. Why let them have my cc# on file ? Each time I am going to type it in!! Be green!!

Re:Prioritize, people!

"Greasy inbred savages"? Columbus, is that you?

Re:Prioritize, people!

Enough! Americans are not all greasy inbred savages!!!!

Wait... What?