# Uncontacted Tribe Confirmed. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 7, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncontacted-tribe-confirmed/588199 "2011-07-07T16:27:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncontacted-tribe-confirmed/588199/1 "2011-07-07T16:27:42Z")
Brazil has confirmed the existence of what may well be the world’s last uncontacted tribe. > **[Brazil Confirms Existence of One of Earth's Last Uncontacted Tribes](https://www.foxnews.com/science/brazil-confirms-existence-of-one-of-earths-last-uncontacted-tribes)** > > The government of Brazil confirmed this week the existence of around 200 members of a still-uncontacted tribe living in a southwestern area of the Amazon rain forest. So many questions come up I don’t know where to start. Can they really have gone uncontacted all this time? And should we? What are even the considerations about whether we should? Obviously there’s the danger of outsiders as disease vectors, but what else? Could it be genocide not to contact them? Is the time coming soon when it will be beyond their ability to catch up and survive in the modern world? Is a gene pool of 200 individuals enough to maintain long-term health? How can their diet possibly be adequate? I mean, it’s obviously adequate to get them old enough to procreate, but are we robbing each person of 30-40 years of life by not giving them vitamins and medical support? Waddya think? ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncontacted-tribe-confirmed/588199/2 "2011-07-07T17:36:59Z")
Just a correction, they’re not the last uncontacted tribe: > [@](#): > > The community is near the border with Peru in the massive Vale do Javari reservation, which is nearly the size of Portugal and is home to at least 14 uncontacted tribes. > ~ > The region has a constellation of uncontacted peoples considered the largest in the world, said Amorim. In addition to the 14 known groups, Funai has identified through satellite images or land excursions up to eight more tribes. > > That adds up to a population of about 2,000 individuals in the reservation, Amorim said. ---
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncontacted-tribe-confirmed/588199/3 "2011-07-07T17:38:17Z")
That’s a tough one. It would be a hell of a culture shock for them at the least. I’d assume the children would adapt to whatever influx of foreign culture well enough but I’m not so sure about the adults. My vote would be to leave them alone. They’ve apparently managed on their own for quite a while; there’s no way of knowing how long they’ve lived there or how many members the tribe had in its heyday. The inbreeding thing could be a problem due to genetic diseases, but what can you do about it. Depending on the terrain, if it’s very mountainous or in a deep valley I can see where it would have been harder to get there by land than it’s worth, especially in dense undergrowth and forest. Their diet doesn’t sound all that bad to me. Grains, fruit, peanuts for protein, and I’d assume that they hunt. Modern medicine and vitamins might prolong their lives, but no guarantee whether they’d take it or not. ---
**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncontacted-tribe-confirmed/588199/4 "2011-07-07T17:40:46Z")
It’s such an Americentric view to assume that they desperately need our help. If they’re anything like the Piraha people, they’re probably happier with life than you are. Certainly happier than I am. They should come help US for a change. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncontacted-tribe-confirmed/588199/5 "2011-07-07T17:47:36Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Is a gene pool of 200 individuals enough to maintain long-term health? > [@ugly ripe tomato](#): > > The inbreeding thing could be a problem due to genetic diseases, but what can you do about it. 200 people is PLENTY to create a viable gene pool. A lot of those people are probably closely related, but we’ve had threads on this board that show that about 32 people is really all you need to repopulate safely. ---
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncontacted-tribe-confirmed/588199/6 "2011-07-07T17:51:25Z")
Aha. My genetics textbook had a section on population genetics but mostly just fruit flies and sweetpeas, and I was hesitant to extrapolate 😉 ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncontacted-tribe-confirmed/588199/7 "2011-07-07T17:51:53Z")
Apparently, Casey Anthony needs a new place to live, and she could add a bit of much needed genetic diversity to the tribe in exchange for all the exotic Amazonian hallucinogens she could snort… Talk about a “Win-Win” ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncontacted-tribe-confirmed/588199/8 "2011-07-07T18:02:09Z")
“Uncontacted” rarely means exactly that. They are almost certainly aware of and probably trade with other indigenous groups. But for whatever reason they’ve chosen to limit that contact. I can respect that. In any case, it’s not like contact woud transplant them to a suburb of LA. What they’d have to look forward to is the life of a remote indigenous group im Brazil- a demographic that is notoriously famous for lacking access to basic services. I doubt shiny well-stocked clinics would be popping up any time soon. Being “uncontacted” doesn’t make them that much different than their contacted neighbors. All that is really going to happen is that one way or another they will wventally lose control of their land, and they will probably end up working poorly paid jobs in crappy conditions. Or they may end up “resettled” ito what amounts to a camp, with predictably grim prospects. Indigenous people of any country rarely get much out of “progress.” ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncontacted-tribe-confirmed/588199/9 "2011-07-07T18:04:18Z")
“Uncontacted” rarely means exactly that. They are almost certainly aware of and probably trade with other indigenous groups. But for whatever reason they’ve chosen to limit that contact. I can respect that. In any case, it’s not like contact woud transplant them to a suburb of LA. What they’d have to look forward to is the life of a remote indigenous group im Brazil- a demographic that is notoriously famous for lacking access to basic services. I doubt shiny well-stocked clinics would be popping up any time soon. Being “uncontacted” doesn’t make them that much different than their contacted neighbors. All that is really going to happen is that one way or another they will wventally lose control of their land, and they will probably end up working poorly paid jobs in crappy conditions. Or they may end up “resettled” ito what amounts to a camp, with predictably grim prospects. Indigenous people of any country rarely get much out of “progress.” ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncontacted-tribe-confirmed/588199/10 "2011-07-07T18:07:58Z")
Transplant them to New York: “That’s not a blow pipe. THIS, is a blow pipe.” ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncontacted-tribe-confirmed/588199/11 "2011-07-07T19:07:53Z")
OMG, they NEED television. And I’m pretty damn sure they’ll need deodorant, at the least! It’s not a matter of how much they need us, but how much we need them. They are an uncounted demographic. How will our marketers know what kind of shoes and shower curtains to sell them??? ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncontacted-tribe-confirmed/588199/12 "2011-07-07T19:43:29Z")
> [@ReticulatingSplines](#): > > It’s such an **Americentric view to assume that they desperately need our help.** If they’re anything like the Piraha people, they’re probably happier with life than you are. Certainly happier than I am. They should come help US for a change. If that’s what you got from the OP you misunderstood me. I’m just trying to start a discussion here. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncontacted-tribe-confirmed/588199/13 "2011-07-07T19:44:21Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > 200 people is PLENTY to create a viable gene pool. A lot of those people are probably closely related, but we’ve had threads on this board that show that about 32 people is really all you need to repopulate safely. Not to mention: with that small a population, and without even the technology available to the Amish, any bad-enough traits have had a fair amount of time to die out because they were lethal and those kids didn’t live long enough to reproduce. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncontacted-tribe-confirmed/588199/14 "2011-07-07T19:56:50Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Not to mention: with that small a population, and without even the technology available to the Amish, any bad-enough traits have had a fair amount of time to die out because they were lethal and those kids didn’t live long enough to reproduce. And the flip-side to that - if we ‘contact’ them a lot, we’ll share a whole bunch of viruses with them that aren’t a big deal to us, but might kill them. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncontacted-tribe-confirmed/588199/15 "2011-07-07T19:57:49Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > All that is really going to happen is that one way or another they will wventally lose control of their land, and they will probably end up working poorly paid jobs in crappy conditions. Or they may end up “resettled” ito what amounts to a camp, with predictably grim prospects. Indigenous people of any country rarely get much out of “progress.” I agree with this. That’s why I think it’s important to go in now, when their community is not yet falling apart, and learn everything we can about their history and their way of life. The stone age is over. It’s not coming back. Previous encounters with indigenous people on this continent have not focused on preserving their knowledge. We’re running out of opportunities. This will probably destroy their culture, I know. But their culture is doomed anyway. Their only hope to preserve it is to get in the records, now. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncontacted-tribe-confirmed/588199/16 "2011-07-07T20:04:25Z")
What they need are jobs, mortgages, and taxes. That’ll teach em to live in bliss all this time! ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncontacted-tribe-confirmed/588199/17 "2011-07-07T20:24:37Z")
Send Shatner in as Kirok. Film it as a reality TV series. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncontacted-tribe-confirmed/588199/18 "2011-07-07T21:00:05Z")
Yeah, they need our help desperately. Just think, if most of humanity lived like that, the human race would have died out hundreds of thousands of years ago. ---
**Author:** ![buckgully](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb9ed0/32.png) [@buckgully](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buckgully)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncontacted-tribe-confirmed/588199/19 "2011-07-07T21:15:49Z")
We should contact them with robots. That way they won’t get any diseases, and we can get valuable information regarding how crazy everyone will go if we’re ever invaded by aliens with super-advanced technology. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2011, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncontacted-tribe-confirmed/588199/20 "2011-07-07T21:26:56Z")
> [@buckgully](#): > > We should contact them with robots. Robots with friggin lasers on their heads. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uncontacted-tribe-confirmed/588199.md?page=2)