T-shirts and Cavemen…is it that simple???

Ancient cultures living in the modern world…tribes untouched by the technical age or modern world still roaming the earth…tribesmen and women living the way they have always been since the Stone Age…essentially a living cavemen and women culture existing to this day in the Philippines. Sounds like something straight from a weekly world newspaper, I guess you’re wondering where and what Batboy is doing now or how Sasquatch birthed babies with the Octomom. Well how about this was in fact a story from one of the highest regarded magazines on nature, people, history and science…I am speaking about no other than National Geographic magazine.

In 1971 National Geographic published a story about a tribe Located in the Philippines on an island called Mindanao. This tribe was called the Tasaday which consisted of about 25 people/tribesmen. They were shown wearing nothing but orchid leaves and using primitive tools…essentially living as cavemen had lived back in the Stone Age. They were a tribe untouched by modern marvels, whether it be technology, science, medicine, etc etc.

Now after the article had been published it was right around the era of Marcos who, not because of the article, shut down access to the Philippines under his rule as dictator. Once he had been removed from power a Swiss Anthropologist visited the island of Mindanao looking for the Tasaday tribe. When the Swiss anthropologist came across the tribe they were in t-shirts, jeans and had apparently embraced the modern world. So from 1971 to 1986, 15 years, they were completely different people, welcome to the modern age.

This was considered one of the greatest hoaxes ever to be committed, now National Geographic not wanting to be considered a publication that published hoaxes and didn’t check what they print came out with their theory. They said that during the time of Marcos shutting down access to the Philippines that the tribe had been brought up to modern standards and that their original story was indeed accurate.

Now I am a fan of National Geographic, but I don’t believe what their explanation was. I guess within 15 years you could bring a tribe up to code in the modern world, but take into the biggest fact of them all…Marcos didn’t care about the poor people of his country. Marcos was a true dictator and was only concerned abut power…ie keeping the poor people poor and not giving them any help or support. So why in the world if he didn’t care about the people just outside his palace gates would he care about brining a Stone age tribe up to modern standards…my theory is that he didn’t. I think National Geographic messed up..they didn’t check the sources and they printed the fanciful article. It’s always easier to dress and place people in Stone Age situations for a nominal price.

There are many hoaxes in this world and this is just one of many that have arisen over time…to me a hoax is just a conspiracy theory that was discovered and proved to be true.

Be safe and wear a concert t-shirt…go Iron Maiden,

Jon Bolton