In 1971 a wealthy Filipino, Manuel Elizalde, discovered a lost tribe in a jungle on Mindanao living in a manner apparently unchanged since the Paleolithic period. This group of hunters and gatherers, called the Tasaday, appeared to enjoy an altogether idyllic existence. It was reported, for example, in virtually every contemporary account of the group that they had no words for "war" or "enemy." Unfortunately, the notion that the Tasaday were noble savages unsullied by the 20th century seems to fall under the heading: Wonderful, if True.
Though there are still those who argue that they were the "real thing," the consensus now seems to be that the Tasaday were actually a desperately poor people whose contact with the 20th century, though limited by their poverty, was far from nonexistent. Elizalde had bribed and bullied the tribe into masquerading as the Stone Age anachronisms he wanted them to be.
The most negative interpretation placed upon Elizalde's actions holds that he was in cahoots with Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos, and that what has come to be known as "the Tasaday hoax" was cooked up to give powerful plutocrats an excuse to limit access to the Tasaday habitat to ensure that they would be the first to get their hands on the area's natural wealth.