MSNBC
Anthropologists worry that the tsunami could be the final blow to some cultures that were already thought to be endangered.
“My suspicion is that we may be seeing … perhaps as many as three or four different nations (specific indigenous populations) that would be completely wiped out,” says Dr. Rudolph Ryser, chairman of the U.S.-based Center for World Indigenous Studies.
He notes that tiny islands that dot the west coast of Sumatra and the east coast of India are so close to the epicenter of the earthquake that they would have been hit within minutes. Many have no high ground to provide refuge. >> continue
SEE ALSO:
Indian authorities search for aboriginal tribe on remote islands (ABC News Online)
Anthropologists to make on-the-spot assessment in Andaman and Nicobar Islands (India Daily)