A tribesman is a male member of a tribe, which is a group of people who share common ancestors, customs, and ways of life. Throughout history and in many parts of the world today, tribes have been the basic way humans organized themselves into communities.

In some places, tribes live traditionally, following the same practices their ancestors did for generations: hunting, farming, herding animals, or fishing. A tribesman might be a skilled tracker in the Amazon rainforest, a herder moving across African grasslands with his cattle, or a fisherman in a Pacific island community. Each tribe has its own language, stories, and knowledge passed down over centuries.

The word appears frequently in history and anthropology books describing how different groups lived. Ancient Celtic tribesmen in Europe, Native American tribesmen on the Great Plains, and Aboriginal tribesmen in Australia all developed unique ways of surviving and thriving in their environments.

In modern usage, the word can sound outdated because it sometimes carries the assumption that tribal people are less advanced or stuck in the past. Many people who belong to tribes prefer more specific terms: they might identify as members of the Maasai, the Navajo Nation, or the Yanomami people. The female equivalent is tribeswoman, though tribe member works for anyone.