Introduction

Welcome on the Video Section of the Andaman Website! The work of George has inspired me to go on exploring further indigenous tribes and I have been amazed by the variety of human cultures. So, the video section developed more and more, and I am pleased to present you an overview of indigenous cultures all over the world. You will find here many video-clips that documents how various groups of human beings have organized their life. Many of them have not gone beyond the stone-age hunting-gathering technologically, some practice shifting cultivation, others grow standard crops, still others raise cattle while some do many or even all of these things.

You will see how the Ona manufacture stone tools, how the Korowai build their tree-houses, how the Dani cultivate sweet potatoes. You will see the artistic wood-carving of the Asmat, the fishing-technique of the Onge, ancient dances, rites and ceremonies. You will see much diversity.

What you will also see in these videos is the threat that modern civilization poses to indigenous ways of life. So-called "primitive" cultures are deeply embedded in their natural habitat. If you participate in altering or destroying this delicate balance, you will eventually deprive these people of their life-supporting sustenance and contribute to their extinction.

The greatest threats for indigenous people are the transmission of diseases and the loss of their territory. The variety of modern human genome is - compared to animal species - greatly reduced. It seems that this trend is also spilling over into cultural levels, leading to ever-growing standardization of human cultures.