Napoleon Chagnon

Largely credited for putting the Yanomami people on the map is anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon. Chagnon, first traveled into Yanomami land in 1964; this expedition, in addition to the many that followed, was the source of information for his representation of the Yanomami people (Eakin 2013). In these works Chagnon represents the Yanomami males as violent people who revel in warfare. (Chagnon 1966). Chagnon’s representation has painted the Yanomami as barbarians that need to be civilized…

In the ethnography “Doing Fieldwork among the Yanomamö” by Napoleon Chagnon, it is apparent that these anthropological tools are apparent in his case study of this primitive society. The tool of emic perspective is seen when Chagnon discusses the custom of aggression for the Yanomamö, a key behavior in their interpersonal politics and social interactions. The Yanomamö use aggression constructively, a behavior that we view as being somewhat taboo. Their cultural lens is shaped to encourage…

Kenneth Good is a cultural anthropologist that graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and was a graduate student of Napoleon Chagnon, who wrote the book Yanomamo: The Fierce People. As a student of Chagnon, Good traveled to South America in 1957 to live among the Hasupuweteri Yanomamo people for 15 months with the purpose of studying their diet and attempting to prove that Chagnon’s theory that ecological factors were the reason for this indigenous people’s horrible temperament. During…

In a study observing the culture and history of the Yanomamo, findings from anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon reveals how violence can create new allies. For decades, the men of the Yanomamo “fought like bands of brothers” as they raided villages and killed. The alliance is created when a pair or party of warriors from different communities frequently meet and kill together; in doing so, the pair or group is more likely to move into the same village later. As a result from working to raid a…

It is an instinct for people to act when they start to feel some sort of stimulus to their environment. Whether it causes comfort or discomfort, depends on of how the person will act. However, it has become a widespread topic of whether or not there is truly good or true evil. The United Nations proposed the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” based on how their societies view good and evil. Reacting to the UN’s claim the American Anthropological Association provided a counter argument. The…

there is only one and they now find it useful. They all want to use it and start fighting and getting jealous. We see how small things can change society like we saw N!ai: The story of a !Kung woman. The difference in Secrets of the Tribe is that Chagnon, Neel, Good, and Lizot did not try to keep from interfering in the lives of their subjects but deeply disturbed their lives. The Yanomami were doing fine before they came to disrupt their lives. This is why they don’t want anthropologists…

Chagnon in the video further stated that the lack of resources from the external world and the fact they are not connected to the rest of the world causes them to adopt the primitive Stone Age culture. The Yanomamos live by hunting and gathering while their…

written by Annette B. Weiner is an ethnography that reflects a view of the society from both male and female perspective. The Yanomamo is a group of 35.000 indigenous people, which are situated in Amazon rainforest. ‘’The Yanomamo’’ written by Napoleon Chagnon is an ethnography that has its focus on Yanomamo people. In this essay I will identify and compare the relationship between men and women in two of the societies I have studies, the Trobrianders and Yanomamo. Domestic life/ economic…

other cultures researchers have to keep cultural relativism as a priority. Cultural relativism is an important idea that all scholars use. In anthropology, it is used when researchers look at different groups of people like the Yanomamo. When Napoleon Chagnon went and studied one of the most violent group he could not judge their traditions, customs or religious believes with his modern views. Cultural relativism does not only affect culture and different times, but also different races and…

The Nacirema is a “tribe” in North America. The ethnographic analysis describing the rituals of the Nacirema was written by Horace Miner and actually describes American culture in the 1950s. The article illustrates how anthropologists view and describe other cultures. By turning the analysis on our very own culture, we see how language can influence the reader’s perception of that culture. For example, Miner uses words such as “ritual” “ceremony” and “religious” to describe ordinary activities.…