Eighteen different foraging peoples were among the so-called “hill tribes” that once inhabited the scattered, forested ranges in India's four southernmost states. Although a few are near neighbors to one another, the overall picture is one of dispersal across a region that is both extensive and diverse. The cultures of six out of the eighteen cultures have been described sufficiently well to be included in this comparison. Starting with the less-acculturated southernmost foragers and moving north, the respectful, plural forms of terms they use for themselves are Malapandaram, Paliyar, Kadar, Kattunayaka/Jenu Kurumba/Jenu Kuruba (treated by those who study them as one and the same peoples), Yanadi, and Chenchu.