NUEVA OCEANIA, Peru — Typically, they imitate the low rumble of the howler monkey or the shrill squawk of the curassow. Usually, they block a jungle path with two branches within the form of an X.
The Mashco Piro, believed to be the planet’s largest Indigenous group nonetheless dwelling in voluntary isolation from the skin world, have methods of registering their displeasure at — and concern of — intruders. After they’ve felt threatened of their distant Amazonian territory, the hunter-gatherers, whose quantity is estimated at 750, have launched six-foot arrows from the bush. They’ve, every so often, killed strangers.