So they're like the people in Wyoming.

They frequently change their names, because they believe spirits regularly take them over and intrinsically change who they are.

This would seem to imply some sort of crude belief system, or at the very least, abstract thought. I'd like to hear the take of the guy who is fluent in their language on this bit, and see if 'spirit' is some kind of mistranslation.



When faced with a line of batteries and asked to duplicate the number they saw, the men could not get beyond two or three before starting to make mistakes.

They had difficulty drawing straight lines to copy a number of lines they were presented with. They couldn't remember which of two boxes had more or less fish symbols on it, even when they were about to be rewarded for their knowledge.

[...]

'Why they have been resistant to adopting Western number systems is beyond me,' Ray Jackendoff of Brandeis University said.

Because they don't get enough sleep and seem to reinforce stupidity by valuing the refusal to adopt better ways.

They're like evolution's stagnant pool: perfectly suited for a niche that has only survived through dumb luck. We could catch amoebic dysentery if we're not careful.

Whorfian hypothesis +1

'ray jakendoff' lol. But seriously, this is a little interesting.

This is a lot interesting, you cultureless mrnt.

I just dont think they were properly motivated!

When faced with a line of batteries and asked to duplicate the number they saw, the men could not get beyond two or three before starting to make mistakes.

How about each time you get it wrong this nice anthropologist 'Mr. Joshua' will kill one of your children!

See how long they play ignorant! Their cell phones are probably hidden in boxes under their huts!

'Cutureless' doesn't really fit here - these folks seem to have a clear cultural identity, mostly that they are the folks who don't do counting as duder pointed out:

The principle is that the Piraha see themselves as intrinsically different from, and better than, the people around them; everything they do is to prevent them from being like anyone else or being absorbed into the wider world. One of the ways they do this is by not abstracting anything: numbers, colours, or future events.
'This is the reason why the Piraha have survived as Piraha while tribes around them have been absorbed into Brazilian culture,' Prof. Everett said.

How could they identify themselves as separate from, much less BETTER than, people around them unless they had a notion of group identity?

The fact that children couldn't participate in the math lessons due to 'cultural taboos' indicates that there is enough collective memory to come up with an enforce a taboo.

Yes, but 'Cultureless Culture' sure is a catchy title.