We didn't know his name, we didn't know his exact age, but we did know that the "Man of the Hole" was the last of his kind. And we know that he died this year.

The man was the last inhabitant of the Tanaru Indigenous Land in Brazil, and last week government officials found his body in his hut.

There were no signs of violence or struggle, and an Indigenous peoples expert reported he was "dressed [with macaw feathers] as if waiting for death".

The man got his nickname from the near two-metre deep, narrow holes that he dug in the more than 50 huts Brazilian officials saw him construct over the years.

For decades the man had lived in seclusion after reports that the rest of the man's tribe had been massacred in a series of attacks from the 1970s onwards by ranchers wanting to expand their land.

The man had resisted all outside attempts to contact him and shot arrows at those who came too close, though authorities continued to monitor him from afar and occasionally left supplies for him.

Fiona Watson is the research and advocacy director of Survival International, a group that advocates for the rights of Indigenous people around the world.

"No outsider knew this man's name, or even very much about his tribe – and with his death the genocide of his people is complete," Ms Watson said. "He symbolised both the appalling violence and cruelty inflicted on Indigenous peoples worldwide in the name of colonisation and profit, but also their resistance." 

What are uncontacted tribes?

Uncontacted tribes are communities of Indigenous people that choose to avoid contact with the outside world, according to Survival International, a group that advocates for the rights of Indigenous people.

It's estimated that there are more than 100 uncontacted tribes in the world, with the highest concentration on the border of Peru, Brazil and Bolivia in South America.

The organisation is determined to dispel the myth of the "undiscovered tribe" as most uncontacted peoples are well aware of the modern world but actively choose to remain secluded.

Almost all are nomads and many are hunter-gatherers who have deep connections to the land and wildlife they inhabit.

What are the threats to uncontacted tribes?

By far the biggest threat to uncontacted tribes is us – the outside world.

For example, when Brazil's Indian affairs department FUNAI connected with the uncontacted Akuntsu tribe in 1995 they found that cattle ranchers had massacred most of the tribe in an effort to expand their land.

Just four Akuntsu people survive today after the tribe's leader died in 2016.

Contact from the outside world can also bring with it the threat of diseases including influenza, measles, and chicken pox, which uncontracted tribes have no immunity to.

When outsiders come into contact with these tribes, the response may be hostile.