240:, Chagnon's work with the Yanomamö was criticized by a number of other anthropologists. Critics have taken issue with both aspects of his research methods as well as the theoretical approach, and the interpretations and conclusions he drew from his data. Most controversial was his claim that Yanomamö society is particularly violent (i.e. his labelling of Yanonami as 'fierce'), and his claim that this feature of their culture is grounded in biological differences that are the result of natural selection. His research has also been argued to have hurt the Yanomami, by discouraging initiatives aimed at preserving their culture, and encouraging abuse of Yanomami by the Brazilian authorities and others, culminating in the
27:
289:, a historian of medicine and science, concluded after a year's research that Tierney's claims were false and the Association was complicit and irresponsible in helping spread these falsehoods and not protecting "scholars from baseless and sensationalistic charges". The controversy is covered in the 2005 book
247:
As a result of the controversy and the alleged unethical practices with the
Yanomami, Chagnon was barred by the Venezuelan government from studying the Yanomami and from reentering their territory in Venezuela. Chagnon's study of Yanomami has been described as "one of anthropology's most famous and
201:
noted the book's success can be seen as a combination of good writing (Wilson called
Chagnon "a born storyteller") and explosive contents — the description of a very violent society ("brutal, cruel, treacherous" people, living "in a state of chronic warfare", whose leaders were "under the influence
186:
The book had several editions, selling nearly a million copies. It is commonly used as a text in university-level introductory anthropology classes, making it one of the bestselling anthropological texts of all time. The book has also been argued to have made the
Yanomami, "the most famous (and
148:
and widely used in university anthropology classes. It has also been controversial for its depiction of
Yanomamö society as particularly violent, and Chagnon's interpretation that this characteristic is a result of biological differences acquired through
611:"Warfare Over Yanomamö Indians: Brazilian anthropologists say that descriptions of violence are contributing to the Yanomamös downfall; but "fierce" or not, greater forces are at work, as gold prospectors invade the forests"
1176:
492:
219:
to explain his findings. Crocker outlines some problems with the study (ex. "Chagnon consistently fails to relate the
Yanomamo normative rules and beliefs to the practices he describes") and concluded that
285:
convened a task force in
February 2001 to investigate some of the allegations made in Tierney's book, at first finding that some of Tierney's claims were correct, but later rescinding that conclusion.
1063:
456:
482:
165:
people whom
Chagnon observed. As the book title implies, Chagnon characterized them as very violent, with said violence serving the purpose related to
881:
395:"The 'fierce people' in the context of US foreign politics: A historical anthropology approach to Napoleon Chagnon's interpretation of the Yanomami"
582:
891:
773:
282:
1171:
847:
169:: as noted by a reviewer, "the men who killed the most enemies, asserted, tended to have more wives and children — so passing on the
99:
26:
853:
1064:"Book review: 'Noble Savages: My Life Among Two Dangerous Tribes: the Yanomamo and the Anthropologists,' by Napoleon A. Chagnon"
747:
1161:
559:
954:
1030:
703:
907:
Whitehead, Neil L. (1998). Salamone, Frank A.; Ritchie, Mark; Bella, Peter; Chagnon, Napoleon; Seaman, Gary (eds.).
69:
1088:
268:
518:
211:
127:
1144:
1137:
299:
264:
225:
206:
394:
273:
256:
583:"The Napoleon Chagnon Wars Flare Up Again in Anthropology : 13.7: Cosmos And Culture : NPR"
228:
would have been, I think, enthusiastic about this work; my own reaction is somewhat less positive".
202:
of hallucinogenic snuff, summoning up blood-curdling spirits to pursue their vendettas by magic").
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130:
40:
294:
241:
221:
216:
657:"Book Review: The Yanomami and Their Interpreters: Fierce People or Fierce Interpreters?"
1006:
300:
Noble
Savages: My Life Among Two Dangerous Tribes: the Yanomamo and the Anthropologists
832:
1155:
800:
774:"Beyond good and evil? : Questioning the anthropological discomfort with morals"
769:
739:
688:
426:
320:
197:
249:
551:
313:
286:
237:
626:
362:
267:
missionaries. One of the fiercest critics of
Chagnon was investigative journalist
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261:
The
Yanomami and Their Interpreters: Fierce People or Fierce Interpreters?
162:
138:
59:
940:
908:
379:
345:
113:
483:"How Napoleon Chagnon Became Our Most Controversial Anthropologist"
278:
Tierney accused Chagnon of unethical practices during his research.
255:
Several books have tackled the controversy. In 1997 anthropologist
170:
1124:
Loewen, Jacob A. (December 1969). "Yanomamö: The Fierce People".
974:"Darkness's Descent on the American Anthropological Association"
883:
Yanomami: The Fierce Controversy and What We Can Learn from It
840:
Yanomami: The Fierce Controversy and What We Can Learn from It
587:
291:
Yanomami: The Fierce Controversy and What We Can Learn from It
107:
842:. Vol. 12. University of California Press. p. 11.
1177:
Non-fiction books about indigenous peoples of the Americas
297:. Chagnon revisited the topic in his later book, 2013
826:
824:
831:Borofsky, Robert; Albert, Bruce (31 January 2005).
105:
93:
85:
75:
65:
54:
46:
36:
886:. University of California Press. pp. blurb.
271:, who criticized Chagnon's study in his 2000 book
955:"AAA Rescinds Acceptance of the El Dorado Report"
173:that made the successful warriors and leaders."
1128:. Vol. 16, no. 6. pp. 287–288.
263:, discussing the conflict between Chagnon and
8:
1062:Tribune, CURT SCHLEIER Special to the Star.
909:"Yanomamology, Missiology, and Anthropology"
833:"Who are the controversy's main characters?"
161:The book is an anthropological study of the
19:
880:Borofsky, Rob; Albert, Bruce (2005-01-31).
393:Rosa, Alexandre Coello de la (2018-11-01).
25:
18:
1005:
361:
215:. He observed that Chagnon relies on the
346:"Review of Yanomamö: The Fierce People"
333:
187:infamous) tribal people in the world."
550:D'Antonio, Michael (30 January 2000).
205:Anthropologist Christopher Crocker of
875:
873:
750:from the original on 28 February 2013
581:King, Barbara J. (28 February 2013).
552:"Napoleon Chagnon's War of Discovery"
7:
562:from the original on 8 February 2002
512:
510:
476:
474:
450:
448:
446:
444:
442:
440:
438:
436:
339:
337:
283:American Anthropological Association
1029:Povinelli, Elizabeth (2013-02-15).
702:Povinelli, Elizabeth (2013-02-15).
661:Missiology: An International Review
209:reviewed the work in 1969 for the
14:
495:from the original on 9 March 2014
481:Eakin, Emily (13 February 2013).
195:Writer James Wilson writing for
1087:Mann, Charles C. (2013-02-15).
859:from the original on 2016-03-12
517:Tierney, Patrick (2000-10-01).
1:
627:10.1126/science.243.4895.1138
609:Booth, William (1989-03-03).
363:10.1525/aa.1969.71.4.02a00320
344:Crocker, Christopher (1969).
31:First paperback edition, 1967
16:1968 book by Napoleon Chagnon
1089:"Book Review: Noble Savages"
972:Dreger, Alice (2011-09-01).
667:(4): 541–542. October 1999.
455:Wilson, James (2000-12-01).
236:While praised by some, like
20:Yanomamö: The Fierce People
519:"The Fierce Anthropologist"
126:is a 1968 book by American
123:Yanomamö: The Fierce People
1193:
673:10.1177/009182969902700422
70:Holt, Rinehart and Winston
1172:Books about ethnic groups
990:10.1007/s12110-011-9103-y
925:10.1525/aa.1998.100.2.517
232:Controversy and criticism
58:anthropological study of
24:
793:10.1177/1463499608096642
913:American Anthropologist
411:10.1111/1469-8676.12544
350:American Anthropologist
212:American Anthropologist
128:cultural anthropologist
1162:1968 non-fiction books
1126:Practical Anthropology
781:Anthropological Theory
207:University of Virginia
144:The book has become a
141:people of the Amazon.
274:Darkness in El Dorado
738:(10 December 2000).
1093:Wall Street Journal
744:The Washington Post
621:(4895): 1138–1140.
399:Social Anthropology
21:
1035:The New York Times
708:The New York Times
488:The New York Times
457:"THE SAVAGE STATE"
293:by anthropologist
893:978-0-520-24404-7
736:Sahlins, Marshall
556:LA Times Magazine
257:Frank A. Salamone
167:natural selection
151:natural selection
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1031:"Tribal Warfare"
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957:. Archived from
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803:. Archived from
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704:"Tribal Warfare"
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131:Napoleon Chagnon
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77:Publication date
41:Napoleon Chagnon
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1118:Further reading
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961:on 4 July 2015.
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746:. p. X01.
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295:Robert Borofsky
269:Patrick Tierney
242:Haximu massacre
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217:alliance theory
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32:
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1145:ATLA0000436771
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1021:
984:(3): 225–246.
964:
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919:(2): 517–519.
899:
892:
869:
849:978-0520244047
848:
820:
810:on 29 May 2019
772:(2008-12-01).
770:Fassin, Didier
761:
740:"Jungle Fever"
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601:
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523:The New Yorker
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1104:. Retrieved
1092:
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1071:. Retrieved
1068:Star Tribune
1067:
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1046:. Retrieved
1034:
1024:
981:
978:Human Nature
977:
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959:the original
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861:. Retrieved
839:
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805:the original
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719:. Retrieved
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592:. Retrieved
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314:The Ax Fight
312:
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287:Alice Dreger
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238:E. O. Wilson
235:
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196:
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143:
135:ethnographic
122:
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133:. It is an
1156:Categories
1106:2023-08-29
1073:2023-08-29
1048:2023-08-29
863:2019-07-29
814:2019-07-29
787:(4): 337.
721:2023-08-27
536:2023-08-27
328:References
259:published
250:imbroglios
248:explosive
146:bestseller
1134:0032-633X
1101:0099-9660
1043:0362-4331
998:1936-4776
933:0002-7294
801:145417693
716:0362-4331
689:220991531
681:0091-8296
635:0036-8075
531:0028-792X
427:240299899
419:0964-0282
372:0002-7294
244:of 1993.
177:Reception
66:Publisher
1167:Yanomami
1016:21966181
854:Archived
748:Archived
643:17799889
560:Archived
558:. UCLA.
493:Archived
467:(9): 50.
307:See also
265:Salesian
226:McLennan
163:Yanomami
157:Contents
139:Yanomami
89:xiv, 142
60:Yanomami
47:Language
1007:3178026
615:Science
191:Reviews
55:Subject
50:English
37:Authors
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566:9 June
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380:670356
378:
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222:Morgan
182:Impact
1138:EBSCO
937:JSTOR
857:(PDF)
836:(PDF)
808:(PDF)
797:S2CID
777:(PDF)
685:S2CID
423:S2CID
376:JSTOR
171:genes
114:68650
86:Pages
1140:host
1130:ISSN
1097:ISSN
1039:ISSN
1012:PMID
994:ISSN
929:ISSN
888:ISBN
844:ISBN
756:2016
712:ISSN
677:ISSN
639:PMID
631:ISSN
596:2016
568:2016
527:ISSN
501:2016
415:ISSN
368:ISSN
281:The
224:and
108:OCLC
95:ISBN
81:1968
1002:PMC
986:doi
921:doi
917:100
789:doi
669:doi
623:doi
619:243
588:NPR
407:doi
358:doi
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