Chagnon Debate
In Patrick Tierney’s article “The Fierce Anthropologist,” he discussed the faults that are, or may be, present in Napoleon Chagnon’s anthropological research of the Yanamamo, or “The Fierce People,” as Chagnon has referred to them in his best-selling book on the people.
Due to Chagnon’s unparalleled body of work in terms of quantity and, as many argue, quality, Marvin Harris draws heavily on his research to support his point, which is that the origin of war is ecological and reproductive pressure. One should question Harris’s theories (and all theories), especially in the light of the aforementioned article, but I do not believe his arguments are, or should be, adversely affected by the information presented in this article.
The claim that the Yanamamo are an extremely militant people is pervasive in Chagnon’s work, and Harris uses this as the basis for his arguments. However, Tierney claims that “Chagnon’s account of Yanamami warfare seemed greatly exaggerated.” (Pg. 54).
Another integral part of Chagnon’s research, which Harris cites, was that the Yamamamo wage war because of women. John Peters, in Tierney’s article, presented a differing opinion stating that, “these raids [referring to the four raids carried out in half a century by a group that Chagnon said ‘demonstrated the most extreme form of Yanamami “treachery.”’ (Pg. 54).] …had been provoked not by competition for women, as Chagnon had written, but by the spread of new diseases, which prompted angry accusations of witchcraft.”
These, among a slew of other discrepancies, cast an especially doubtful light on Chagnon’s research, and thus Harris’s conclusions. Harris reasons that if Yanamamo warfare is indeed caused by fights over women that this is caused not only by lack of females due to female infanticide which is legitimized through male supremacy which is legitimized through warfare, but also the males’ failure to bring home meat. In Cannibals and Kings Harris writes, “From the account of Helena Valero, a Brazilian captured by the Yanomamo, we know that wives make a point of taunting their husbands when the supply of game falters… The men themselves, after returning empty-handed, become touchy about real or imagined insubordination on the part of their wives and younger brothers. At the same time, the failure of the men emboldens wives and unmarried junior males to ...
... middle of paper ...
...logists to verify his data,” and that, “(pg. 54) he [the German ethnologist Irenaus Eibl-Eibesfeldt] and another Yanomami researcher at the institute wrote a letter to the American Human behavior and Evolution Society, which claimed that Chagnon had got important mortality rate statistics wrong.” (Pg. 54) Even if these claims of deceiving information and others of plain false information (“In ‘The Fierce People,’ Chagnon wrote that the Yanomami were ‘one of the best nourished populations thus far described in the anthropological/biomedical literature.’ Unlike Chagnon’s ‘burly’ men, the villagers I encountered were – as Rice had observed in 1924 – tiny and scrawny.” [Pg. 54]) Are all true I don’t believe the vast majority of Chagnon’s research was falsified or misleading – nearly 40 years of false, purposefully misleading information would be an absurd, pointless task of monumental proportions.
Overall, I do not believe Harris’s theories are, or should be, damaged significantly even in a worst case scenario (described by Tierney). His theory could stand alone without the evidence provided by the Yanomamo and in all probability the conclusions drawn from them were, indeed, valid.
Between the years of 1985 to 1987 Conklin spent a total of 19 months living amongst the Wari’ tribes. Her primary source of gathering information was to interview the Wari’ about their own culture and history. Performing return trips to the Amazonian society in 1991, 1999, and 2000 Conklin was able to confirm her gathered information by asking different Wari’ about their beliefs and cultural history. Amongst Conklin’s interview subjects were dozens of elderly Wari’ who could remember the life before the outside world had become a major influence. They c...
Joseph Conlans “State of War; The Violent Order of Fourteenth Century Japan” is an depth look at Japans emerging warrior class during a time period of constant warfare in Medieval Japan. His work however doesn’t revolve around the re-fabrication and in-depth analysis of battles sieged like many contemporary examinations of wars and battles won and lost. Instead the author vies to navigate the reader on journey into the warrior class’s lives and how they evolved through a statistical analysis of records. This illustrates how warfare changed and transformed with the constant evolving of the Samurai, but it also includes how their actions affected their Political environment as well as the society in which they dwelled from the bottom up. Through his survey of records and documents, Conlan is able to give readers a compelling look into the Warrior class and at times shatters in the process many of the pre-conceived general notions that one may hold about this ancient class of professional warriors. Many of the notions & common misconceptions debunked in this scholarly piece include the idea that the Samurai was a male only fraternity, reserved for those of impeccable candor and loyalty. When truth be known, woman and young men (boys) were also trained in the art of war and thus were as likely to be found on the battle fields as men when times were tough and solider numbers were depleted. Further, another misconception (Generally thought to be caused by the popular and well known; “The Bushido Code: The Eight Virtues of the Samurai”) of the warrior class is that all of these men were truly Samurai which translated to “one who serves” when really, loyalty for the warrior class as Conlan points out only went as far as ones right to ...
Wade Davis’ article, Among the Waorani, provides much of the content brought to light in Nomads of the Rainforest. His article delves deeper into their culture and motivations allowing one to more fully understand their beliefs, relationships, and savagery. Both the documentary and article attempt to create a picture of their close-knit relationships and their desire f...
The book is about the fieldwork that Dr. Chagnon worked on when he went to the Yanomamo. He went through many difficult and harsh times. From the start things weren’t great; he almost decided to go back. The first touch with the Yanomamo was very harsh. They were very intimidating and close minded.
"Children of the Forest" is a narrative written by Kevin Duffy. This book is a written testament of an anthropologist's everyday dealings with an African tribe by the name of the Mbuti Pygmies. My purpose in this paper is to inform the reader of Kevin Duffy's findings while in the Ituri rainforest. Kevin Duffy is one of the first and only scientists to have ever been in close contact with the Mbuti. If an Mbuti tribesman does not want to be found, they simply won't be. The forest in which the Mbuti reside in are simply too dense and dangerous for humans not familiar with the area to enter.
I look up to Professor Chagnon I admired his dedication to studying the culture of the Yanomamo, when he invited me to join him on one of his trips to film his research, I was over joyed and nervous. Professor Chagnon warned me of the possible dangers that could happen while we were with the Yanomamo, since our main focus on this trip is to get a better understanding of why raids and violence accurse, and what it tells us about the Yanomano and their culture.
Nanda, S and Warms, R.L. (2011). Cultural Anthropology, Tenth Edition. Belmont, California: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. ISBN – 13:978-0-495-81083-4.
...him?” (Small Group 1, p. 1). Appreciation of nature is a key aspect of Native American life different from the Puritans and indentured servants. More focused on the profits were the indentured servants that immigrated for economic betterment and a new life in New England. Comparing the indentured servants and Native Americans, the Native Americans believed in a Master of Life that provides to all mankind. From the Native American perspective, being an indentured servant would be essentially being owned and confined to a plantation. This would be going against their believes of being one with nature, meaning being free. Now comparing Native Americans and Puritans, the Native Americans were pagans while the Puritans were monotheistic. I need a lot more comparison…. Feel like it is so broad, too many things I could compare but I don’t know what would be most effective.
It is Chagnon’s conclusion that Yanomamo villages grow to a certain size, than split off to form new villages. The offshoots in turn also grow and eventually split off. These migrations can be the result of stress within the village. A village is under constant tension from conflicts within, as well as from outside. Inside tension can be brought on by personal conflicts between men in the village. The reasons for these conflicts can vary from unaddressed grievances from the past, conflicts over women, perceived insults or breeches of etiquette. Depending on kinship and lineage obligations this may cause different political alliances to form. At this point before things get too bad, the aggrieved party may decide to leave the village taking his kin with him to form his own settlement elsewhere. However if tensions finally boil over, a duel or fight may erupt sometimes fought with axes or clubs. These fights may result in death or serious injury. At the very least, a new grievance is born from the out come that eventually festers into a new conflict at a later time. Outside pressures can come from attacks from other villages; usually t...
...ission. The Yanomamo seemed to be quite hesitant in accepting Chagnon, and even now he recounts events where they try to take advantage of him and the things that he brings. This is part of their culture, but what is the global importance of his research? I’m sure there is an answer because his study is widely accepted and taught, hence this paper, but I have not been able to understand the purpose of such projects other than fascination.
Underhill, R., Chona, M. (1936). The Autobiography of a Papago Woman, Memoirs of the American Anthropological Association, No. 46, Menasha, Wisconsin: Krause Reprint Co.
The simple injections have potential to save thousands of lives every year and they are making the world a safer place. Vaccines can help create an environment where children are not receptive to disease which would have taken lives in previous decades, and for the general population to be healthy, and to keep children safe from illness and disease people should vaccinate themselves. Throughout my research for vaccinations, I didn’t realize the many stances parents could support. I knew previously before researching that many parents didn’t agree with the idea of giving their child a vaccination that could possible cause an issue that wasn’t present before. Although, I always supported vaccinations strictly because of scientific facts; when I read about the many reasons why parents didn’t it was a shock and ultimately overwhelmingly disappointing. Mainly, because it seems like parents are only looking at the few effects vaccinations could have on a child. Overall, I believe that everyone should be vaccinated, not only to help themselves but to help the public from outbreaks that can easily occur if the anti-vaccination movement continues and makes
“Gender is one of those big themes that is a little difficult to nail down, in part because it often informs a text without being explicitly addressed. Of course, there are instances in Sula in which we do get direct commentary on gender and gender roles, particularly as they relate to the limits placed on women. But more often than not, we have to dig a little deeper to understand the gender dynamics. And it 's not just men who are invested in upholding certain gender roles while dismantling others. Some women are just as invested in maintaining these societal roles, no matter how restrictive they seem.”
The company not only produces the number of highly technological devices, but also has a great brand ideology lying behind. The following chapters would review each of factors determining Apple`s success.
One of the most debated questions of our time asks: What shapes societies more, Science or imperialism. These subjects both hold a tremendous weight on the path of which societies are created, but only one has had the most dominance; not one or the other. Imperialism is the domination of one country over the other, but in the core beginnings of humanity, dominance between countries was nonexistent. There were no empires to dominate; the only necessity was sustainability. Science was used through the beginning, middle, and will be used till the end of time. While it may seem to some that imperialism has shaped societies more, it is actually true that scientific discovery has played a predominant role in every society, far more than imperialism.