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For 40 Years, This Russian Family Was Cut Off From All Human Contact

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Re: For 40 Years, This Russian Family Was Cut Off From All Human Contact

#81

Post by showerst »

unreal37 wrote: post #12
vardoger wrote: post #5

It's absolutely astonishing to me that there could still be people out there, even in what's termed wilderness, who have never encountered the modernities of the society we inhabit - that for an all but unknown few the world is still just what lies outside their front door. I feel true sadness for the Lykov's, being 'discovered', then somewhat forced by the intrusion of others to be aware of their greater surrounding…

There is also at least one tribe in South America that has never been contacted by the outside world. http://www.uncontactedtribes.org/brazilfootage

Many of these Brazilian tribes have had some contact with loggers/miners/etc, just no formal government contact.

Perhaps more interesting is the case of the Sentinelese, who live on islands in the bay of bengal, and may have had literally no spoken contact with outsiders in hundreds of years:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentinelese_people

Re: For 40 Years, This Russian Family Was Cut Off From All Human Contact

#82

Post by cowpewter »

scrapcode wrote: post #29

This is absolutely amazing. This woman is more of a man than any man I know, living in some desolate valley for all of those years now absolutely ALONE? One word: Wow.

Not to start drama, but that's a bit sexist, isn't it? Can't she just be 'stronger than any person you know'? There's nothing inherently 'manly' about being a strong independent person.

Re: For 40 Years, This Russian Family Was Cut Off From All Human Contact

#83

Post by jlgreco »

mhurron wrote: post #62
erikpukinskis wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This woman is more of a man than any man I know What do you mean?

They mean they have a very narrow definition of what makes a man a man. For example - I can not do many repairs to my car and so I take it to a mechanic. To a great many people, this makes me less of a man.

Sounds to me more like they are making a comment about the dichotomy between masculinity and gender. Seems a reasonable observation to make.

Re: For 40 Years, This Russian Family Was Cut Off From All Human Contact

#86

Post by josh33 »

throwmeaway33 wrote: post #40

"When the warm days do arrive, though, the taiga blooms, and for a few short months it can seem almost welcoming." Hahaha. This guy has no idea what he's talking about. As someone who has been in the taiga in the summer, it's absolutely horrible. The air is alive with mosquitoes. There are clouds of them around you 24/7. The place is just permafrost and swamps. It's really pretty, but a miserable place to live. That'…

I lived in Sukhbaatar in Mongolia for a year and though the summers were great. Winter, on the other hand, freezes the condensation on your eye lashes so that when you blink you can't open your eyes without effort.

Re: For 40 Years, This Russian Family Was Cut Off From All Human Contact

#87

Post by chrisdone »

loeg wrote: post #33
jusben1369 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The other main predator that also hunts in this fashion? Wolves/dogs. There's a theory that it was this overlap in hunting styles that made us natural "partners" and led to the close relationship we have today.

Wolves and dogs can't do this over nearly the same distance humans can — they shed body heat through panting and can only keep up a run for 3-6 miles[0]. Humans can run marathons. [0]: I don't remember my source for this, sorry. But this is interesting for similar reasons: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_versus_Horse_Marathon Edit: I should say, wolves/dogs can run for long distances too, at a slower gait. But they…

Sounds consistent with Walking with Cavemen in which they related the hypothesis that the human nose is so protruding so that it can be breathed through for temperature control, rather than by panting which loses water.

Re: For 40 Years, This Russian Family Was Cut Off From All Human Contact

#88

Post by sliverstorm »

masklinn wrote: post #18
georgecmu wrote: post #4

Lacking guns and even bows, they could hunt only by digging traps or pursuing prey across the mountains until the animals collapsed from exhaustion. It's interesting that they stumbled on the persistence hunting technique so naturally. Indirect evidence to support the Endurance running hypothesis ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endurance_running_hypothesis ).

On the other hand, I guess they did not know/had not rediscovered tanning, because > A couple of kettles served them well for many years, but when rust finally overcame them, the only replacements they could fashion came from birch bark. Since these could not be placed in a fire, it became far harder to cook. they did not replace their kettles by a leather cauldron.

Would they have had tannin available?

Re: For 40 Years, This Russian Family Was Cut Off From All Human Contact

#89

Post by jcrites »

Florin_Andrei wrote: post #61
georgecmu wrote: post #4

Lacking guns and even bows, they could hunt only by digging traps or pursuing prey across the mountains until the animals collapsed from exhaustion. It's interesting that they stumbled on the persistence hunting technique so naturally. Indirect evidence to support the Endurance running hypothesis ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endurance_running_hypothesis ).

Come to think of it, our legs (including associate muscles like the gluteus) are indeed disproportionately large for our overall body size. It would be interesting to know how do we measure up against other mammals in terms of... uh... I forgot the technical name, it's the ability to absorb and metabolize oxygen. It's determined by lung size among other things, and it's a strong predictor of endurance. Add to that a…

I believe the concept/term you're looking for is VO2 max:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VO2_max

Re: For 40 Years, This Russian Family Was Cut Off From All Human Contact

#90

Post by [deleted] »

greghinch wrote: post #34
seanalltogether wrote: post #21

I found this post which indicates that Agafia is still alive and now trying to recruit church followers to live in the mountains with her. http://www.byzcath.org/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/363063/A...

"recruit" is kind of a loaded word. sounds like she is asking for help with physical tasks she can't manage any more

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