Did you guys know?

*Godfather* · 02-10-2006, 05:09 PM

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/tri...379571616.html

Wow! I Had no idea there was still a pre-neolithic tribe left. Apparently they survived the 2004 Tsunami too! I hope the police in India dont pull any stupid shit and ruin their culture. I'd love to learn more about them, but since they fire at anything that comes near I doubt that'll hapen

(a very interesting little read! To cool for links

)

Stone Age tribe kills fishermen

By Peter Foster in New Delhi
February 9, 2006

One of the world's last Stone Age tribes has murdered two fishermen whose boat drifted on to a desert island in the Indian Ocean.
The Sentinelese, thought to number between 50 and 200, have rebuffed all contact with the modern world, firing a shower of arrows at anyone who comes within range.
They are believed to be the last pre-Neolithic tribe in the world to remain isolated and appear to have survived the 2004 Asian tsunami.
The men killed, Sunder Raj, 48, and Pandit Tiwari, 52, were fishing illegally for mud crabs off North Sentinel Island, a speck of land in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands archipelago.
Fellow fishermen said they dropped anchor for the night on January 25 but fell into a deep sleep, probably helped by large amounts of alcohol. During the night their anchor, a rock tied to a rope, failed to hold their open-topped boat against the currents and they drifted towards the island.
"As day broke, fellow fishermen say they tried to shout at the men and warn them they were in danger," said Samir Acharya, the head of the Society for Andaman and Nicobar Ecology, an environmental organisation. "However they did not respond - they were probably drunk - and the boat drifted into the shallows where they were attacked and killed."
The Indian coast guard tried to recover the bodies using a helicopter but was met by a hail of arrows.
Photographs shot from the helicopter show the near-naked tribesmen rushing to fire. But the downdraught from its rotors exposed the two fishermen buried in shallow graves and not roasted and eaten, as local rumour suggested.
Attempts to recover the bodies have been suspended, although the Andaman Islands police chief, Dharmendra Kumar, said an operation might be mounted later.
Environmental groups urged the authorities to leave the bodies and respect the five-kilometre exclusion zone thrown around the island. In the 1980s and early 1990s many Sentinelese were killed in skirmishes with armed salvage operators who visited the island after a shipwreck. Since then the tribesmen have remained virtually undisturbed.
Telegraph, London

**Dragoness_Cutie** · 02-10-2006, 05:15 PM

Dude...

Didn't realize any still existed... cave men still roam the earth!

Thanks for the link/story, GF!

*Godfather* · 02-10-2006, 05:17 PM

Exactly...It sounds kinda shallow to me, but I really had no idea tribes that old were still around. I mean, I knew that there were tribes in Africa and such that still don't wear shirts and all that; National Geographic visits

...but one that is so shut off from the outside world like this!

It'd be so cool to find where this island was on Google Earth

*G_Man* · 02-10-2006, 05:21 PM

Definitely interesting....

Kind of a dilema though. I mean seriously, these people shooting arrows at people, whether they are a threat or not!!

Shit is just funny when you think about...

damn..... definitely a thoughtful post, GF... thanks.

*Godfather* · 02-10-2006, 05:26 PM

Well the fishermen were fishing illegally! Maybe they were a threat; kind of ironic isnt it

**Dragoness_Cutie** · 02-10-2006, 05:28 PM

Pfft. It was just 'cause they got too close to the Sentinelese's land!

Damn outsiders!

*G_Man* · 02-10-2006, 05:30 PM

They were drunk and asleep. If a drunk walked up on your lawn you wouldn't feel right shooting them for no reason.

Also, says that they got into firefights with Salvage Crews... I don't think we need to change their culture, by any means, but just because a culture is old, does not automatically mean it is righteous.

Babbaloo · 02-10-2006, 05:31 PM

so is this an SD thread or open game?

*Godfather* · 02-10-2006, 05:39 PM

Quoting: G_Man

They were drunk and asleep. If a drunk walked up on your lawn you wouldn't feel right shooting them for no reason.

Also, says that they got into firefights with Salvage Crews... I don't think we need to change their culture, by any means, but just because a culture is old, does not automatically mean it is righteous.

Noooo, that's not what I'm saying.

I said it's ironic that the illegal fishermen were killed, and threw in a smilie. That's not to say I don't believe it's a shame two men trying to make a living were killed, because it is too bad.

And I concur, just because they're old doesnt mean they can kill; but I simply hope people take that as a warning, and stay away at all cost. I don't know any other alternatives that would not change their pre-historic little world, and ruining it would just be a shame in my mind's eye.