Photos Of The Last Remaining Uncontacted Tribes On Earth
Uncontacted Tribes Around The World
Modern civilization has encroached on nearly every corner of the globe, but a few uncontacted tribes still do exist today, almost exclusively in dense rainforests or on isolated islands.
These tribes manage to live completely self-sufficiently, surviving off the natural resources in their environment. But when outsiders intervene, things can become disastrous.
In 1981, a small, uncontacted tribe in Brazil made contact with outsiders for the first time in history—and it was the worst mistake of their lives.
The Ayoreo of Paraguay
Though not all of the Ayoreo people have cut off contact to the outside world, approximately 100 of them still live isolated and alone in the dense rainforests of Paraguay.
The Ayoreo of Paraguay
The Ayoreo live a nomadic lifestyle, hunting and foraging for food and resources—though they do grow food in a limited capacity. But just because they live isolated from the world doesn’t mean people haven’t tried to contact them.
The Ayoreo of Paraguay
The first Christian missionaries made contact with the Ayoreo in the 18th century, but they abandoned their mission and no contact was made again until the 20th century. And when missionaries made contact, things immediately went wrong.
The Ayoreo of Paraguay
Between forcibly removing them from their land and bringing fatal diseases like measles, further attempts to convert the uncontacted Ayoreo reduced theur numbers. Little surprise, then, that the uncontacted tribes have attacked a group of outsiders as recently as 1998.
