The Uncontacted Philippines Tribe That Might Have Been A Hoax

In 1971, a rich politician from the Philippines, Manuel Elizalde Jr., discovered the Tasaday foragers in a rainforest in Mindanao — supposedly with the help of a local hunter named Dafal (via Esquire). In 1972, he set up a camp with over 40 team members discreetly observing the cave opening the Tasaday inhabited (via Scholars). Soon, Elizalde was ferrying journalists and even celebrities in his helicopter to see the indigenous group. Curiously, the politician didn't want independent anthropologists and other scientists visiting the area. Rather, he preferred to exercise control over which experts arrived on the scene. According to author and professor of anthropology Thomas N. Headland, Elizalde Jr. selected a group of nine scientists to pay a brief, three-day visit before publishing reports on the Tasaday (per Scholars).

From the get-go, experts were skeptical about the seemingly sensational headlines, the prime example of these including (via Esquire) "Lost Tribe of Tree-Swinging People Discovered in the Philippines." Journalists claimed they were previously uncontacted, had dwelt in caves, and spoke a language unlike any ever heard. The stereotype of the noble savage arose when reports claimed they had no words for "war," "hostility," or "weapon." The New York Times and even National Geographic exploited the sensational story, according to Esquire.