Last updated: February 05, 2011

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Hidden Amazon tribe caught on camera

Amazon tribe

The pictures were taken by Brazilian authorities along the Brazil-Peruvian border. Picture: http://www.uncontactedtribes.org/brazilphotos

Amazon tribe

A member of the tribe is decorated from head to toe in red paint. Picture: http://www.uncontactedtribes.org/brazilphotos

Amazon tribe

Some of the villagers fired arrows at the passing helicopter. Picture: http://www.uncontactedtribes.org/brazilphotos

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NEW photographs have revealed one of the world's last uncontacted tribes in incredible detail.

The isolated villagers, filmed in the dense Amazon rainforest along the Brazilian-Peruvian border, can be seen clutching spears and decorated in bright red body paint.

The footage was captured by Brazil’s Indian Affairs Department in helicopters, who fear for their survival after illegal loggers from Peru were spotted in the area.

Similar images sparked controversy in 2008 when it was first claimed the subjects were from an undiscovered tribe. The organisation behind the photos later clarified that the tribe had been known about since 1910, but it had not been contacted by the outside world.

In the latest photos, released this week, older members of the tribe fired arrows and flung spears at the helicopter as it passed by.

The photographs were handed to British charity Survival International, in the hope that they can help protect their territory and preserve their isolated existence.

Brazilian authorities believe the influx of loggers is pushing isolated Indians from Peru into Brazil, and the two groups are likely to come into conflict

“It is necessary to reaffirm that these peoples exist, so we support the use of images that prove these facts,” Marcos Apurinã, Coordinator of Brazil’s Amazon Indian organization, said.

“These peoples have had their most fundamental rights, particularly their right to life, ignored. It is therefore crucial that we protect them.”

The photographs give a revealing insight in to the villager’s way of life.

Baskets can be seen full of a type of cassava and papaya as well as fish and game covered with banana leaves.

The tribe also possess metal goods such as a machete knife and a pan - believed to have been acquired through inter-tribal trading.

 

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Comments on this story

  • mr Nick of Adelaide Posted at 1:15 PM February 02, 2011

    Dad?!!

  • Rick of Murraylands Posted at 1:08 PM February 02, 2011

    Same picture cropped from a couple of years ago methinks. Maybe a little game by environmentalists?

  • keni of Adelaide Posted at 1:04 PM February 02, 2011

    this is an old (not true) story that gets regurgitated every few years, by a lazy journalist

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