NUEVA OCEANIA, Peru — Generally, 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 residing in voluntary isolation from the surface 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, occasionally, killed strangers.