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Could this viral video show an unlikely run-in between an indigenous tribesman and the modern world?
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.The video from the Fredography YouTube channel shows helmet-cam footage of a motorbike rider cruising around Banda Aceh on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. Suddenly, in the middle of the dirt tracks, there appears to be a small half-naked man carrying a spear, causing one of the bikers to crash. After a brief pause, the man runs off (who could blame him?) and a chase ensues between him and the bikers. The panicked man eventually makes a break for it through the tall grass and isn’t seen again.
Some commenters believe the man could be a member of an uncontacted tribe that live within the forest. Sumatra in Indonesia is home to several tribes that lead hunter-gatherer, semi-nomadic lifestyles.
The stature of the man is also leading people to believe it could be a pygmy tribesman. The people from Rampasasa village of Flores, Indonesia, are short-statured – no taller than 150 centimeters (4 feet 11 inches) tall – and defined by anthropologists as pygmy people.
Near Flores in 2003, archeologists found the remains of an individual that would have stood about 1.1 meters (3.5 feet), which they dubbed Homo floresiensis, Flores Man, or simply "Hobbit". Although there's a lot of scientific debate surrounding this, some argue the pygmy people of Flores village could be related to this extinct species.
On the other hand, it could simply be a hoax (or what's suddenly come to be known as "fake news"). Due to the quality of the camera and the lack of background information in the film, it's hard to make a call on its authenticity.
Needless to say, as many commenters said, if you’re making contact with an uncontacted indigenous tribe, then chasing them down on your noisy motorbike probably isn’t the best of ideas.
