Sentinelese Tribe – The most Dangerous and Isolated

The Sentinelese (also called the Sentineli or North Sentinel Islanders) are the indigenous people of North Sentinel Island in the Andaman Islands of India. One of the Andamanese peoples, they resist contact with the outside world, and are among the last people to remain virtually untouched and uncontacted by modern civilization.

The Sentinelese maintain an essentially hunter-gatherer society subsisting through hunting, fishing, and collecting wild plants. There is no evidence of either agricultural practices or methods of producing fire.The Sentinelese language remains unclassified and is not mutually intelligible with the Jarawa language of their nearest neighbors.The Sentinelese are designated as a Scheduled Tribe.

The precise population of the Sentinelese is not known. Estimates range from fewer than 40, through a median of around 250, and up to a maximum of 500. In 2001, Census of India officials recorded 39 individuals (21 males and 18 females); however, out of necessity this survey was conducted from a distance and almost certainly does not represent an accurate figure for the population who range over the 59.67 km2 (14,700 acres) island.The 2011 Census of India recorded only 15 individuals (12 males and three females).Any medium- or long-term effect on the Sentinelese population arising from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and resulting tsunami is not known, other than the confirmation obtained that they had survived the immediate aftermath.

The Sentinelese and other indigenous Andamanese peoples are frequently described as negritos, a term which has been applied to various widely separated peoples in Southeast Asia, such as the Semang of the Malay Peninsula, the Aeta of the Philippines archipelago, as well as to other peoples in Australia including former populations of Tasmania.[citation needed] The defining characteristics of these "negrito" peoples (who are not a monophyletic group) include a comparatively short stature, dark skin, and afro-textured hair.

Although no close contacts have been established, author Heinrich Harrer described one man as being 1.6 metres (5 ft 3 in) tall and apparently left handed.