The world’s loneliest person has died after 27 years of isolation

In recent years, the half-naked Indian was presented to the world at least twice. Brazil’s government department of indigenous affairs released a video showing the man cutting down a tree. In 1998, a glimpse of his face was seen in the Brazilian documentary Corumbara.

‘The Caveman’ was a native who hunted pigs, birds and monkeys with bow and arrows. His specialty was digging wells which he then covered up so that his prey would unsuspectingly fall into a trap. Hence his nickname. “He is mainly involved in hunting and growing papaya and grain. He is in good health and in great shape,” said Altair Algayer, who was part of the team as regional coordinator that captured the unique footage from a distance in July 2018. The Indian lived in a wooden hut covered with large leaves.

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That house was in the Brazilian region of Tanaru, which borders Bolivia. According to government officials, he wanted “nothing to do with society”. The caveman lived in isolation for about 27 years until this summer. The BBC calls him ‘the loneliest person in the world’.

The reason for that was bitter. The native turned out to be the last surviving member of a Native American tribe. The Brazilian authorities believed that the man was the only man to have survived a massacre of farmers in 1995. In the 1970s, 80s and 90s, tribesmen in the Amazon forest were expelled and even murdered regularly.

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The Indian was first seen briefly in 1996, and has been discreetly watched by Brazilian authorities ever since. Those authorities found his body last week in a hammock near his cabin. There were no signs of violence and it is assumed that the man died of natural causes. Autopsy should provide more clarity. The Indian is about 60 years old.