Tags: Science   UFO


As a huge sci-fi fan waiting for science fiction to become reality, the new photos of an "uncontacted" tribe in Brazil gave me chills. Deep inside the Amazonian rainforest, a tribe of people live, apparently uncontacted by any other humans, ever.

By "other humans", I suspect scientists mean modern, techno-industrial humans. Surely there are other uncontacted tribes to trade with and war with? If not, these would be very strange people to us! Imagine being completely isolated, with no knowledge of any other group of humans anywhere. You would be able to look around your village and believe you are seeing everyone of your species in existence. You could name every living human. The death of one person would be a huge occasion for mourning.

The photos show what appear to be the warriors of this tribe, each painted a solid colour. Some red, some orange, and some dark grey, both men and women among them. The other members of the tribe are probably hidden and protected. The most powerful photos for me are the ones showing the warriors aiming their bows at the sky, the terror almost visible on their faces as they look up at the low-flying plane from which the photos were taken.

What must they have thought they were looking at? A giant dragonfly made of stone? Did they see the other humans inside? A commonplace airplane to us must have seemed like a UFO to them. The incident may turn into a legend that later generations will disbelieve and ridicule.

It's an amazing Star Trek episode brought to life. What does the prime directive tell us to do here? Should we leave them alone, or make first contact? Did they invent bows and arrows themselves? If not, who gave them the technology, and how long ago?