Chapter 13, The Last First Contacts Summary and Analysis

First contacts involve the initial encounter between previously isolated native peoples with previously unknown external peoples who are nearly always more technologically advanced. First contacts usually involve the inability to communicate effectively due to language and cultural barriers and are frequently characterized by violence and misunderstanding. In nearly every historic case, the native people suffered dramatically following first contact.

One of the last major first contacts involved Richard Archbold's third expedition to New Guinea. In August 1938, the expedition finally reached the Grand Valley of New Guinea and discovered thousands of people known as the Dani. Until that day the Dani had considered themselves the only humans on the planet even though many native New Guinean tribes lived within just a few miles of the Dani. The inaccessible terrain and topography of New Guinea...