How many of these tribes are genuinely unaware of the modern world is also unknown. What is certain, though, is that contact almost always ends in disaster. A decade ago, “first contact” was made with the Murunahua (pronounced moor-uh-now-uh) group that was living in an area in the Peruvian jungle. About 100-strong, they were surviving well until illegal loggers came in search of mahogany, a highly valued wood. David Hill, a global charity that campaigns for the rights of threatened indigenous peoples, has seen the consequences.