Napoleon Chagnon

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Napoleon Alphonseau Chagnon (born August 27, 1938 in Port Austin , Michigan , † September 21, 2019 in Traverse City , Michigan) was an American anthropologist . He has taught at Pennsylvania State University and the University of California, Santa Barbara .

In 2012 he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences .

Fonts

  • 1966 - Yanomamö Warfare, Social Organization and Marriage Alliances. (unpublished dissertation), Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan , 1966.
  • 1968 - Yanomamö: The Fierce People. 1968.
  • 1974 - Studying the Yanomamö. Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York 1974.
  • 1976 - Die Krieger vom Orinoco (Yanomamö) Geo Magazin 12/1976, pp. 4, 5 and 54–74 Verlag Gruner + Jahr, Hamburg.
  • 1992 - Yanomamo - The Last Days Of Eden. 1992.
  • 2002 - Adaptation and Human Behavior: An Anthropological Perspective. (Co-authors: Lee Cronk , William Irons ), 2002.
  • 2013 - Noble Savages: My Life Among Two Dangerous Tribes - The Yanomamo and the Anthropologists. 2013.

criticism

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Chagnon's book "Noble Savages" sparked protests among experts and the Yanomami people. Already in Chagnon's book "Yanomamö: The Fierce People" (Yanomamö: The warlike people), the Yanomami people are described as "cunning, aggressive and terrifying", "warlike", "continuously waging war among themselves" and in a state of "chronic warfare." “Described alive.

In his film "The Ax Fight" (1968) he showed scenes that were supposed to document aggressive behavior and which, moreover, were mostly posed. This was cited by Dieter Haller as an example of earlier ethnological filming, which sought to selectively confirm its own theories.

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.

The book "The Fierce People" was a bestseller in the US after its publication and is still a standard text for anthropology students today. The book is also a major resource in many current popular science books by authors such as Jared Diamond and Steven Pinker . Despite the popularity of his book, Chagnon's studies have been severely criticized. Many anthropologists (including Marshall Sahlins , Philippe Descola, and the leading Brazilian anthropologist Eduardo Viveiros de Castro), doctors, and missionaries who have worked with the Yanomami for decades do not recognize his portrayal and reject his portrayal in full.

A number of anthropologists then signed an open letter criticizing Chagnon's portrayal of the Yanomami.

Activist Stephen Corry of the NGO Survival International complained that scholarly writers continued to refer to Chagnon's work: "Chagnon's work is repeatedly referred to by writers like Jared Diamond and Steven Pinker who want to portray indigenous peoples as" brutal savages "- as humans who are much more violent than us. " According to Corry, Chagnon's central thesis "about the" violence "among the Yanomami has long been discredited."

In 2000 the author Patrick Tierny published a book entitled Darkness in El Dorado , in which he made serious allegations against Chagnon and other scientists. Chagnon consciously initiated and staged bloody conflicts between the Yanomani through bribery and manipulation in order to underpin his hypotheses. Furthermore, Chagnon was involved in testing a vaccine against measles, which, according to Tierny, resulted in the deaths of numerous, possibly thousands, of Indians. Chagnon denied the allegations. The book sparked a scandal in the United States and became the subject of several academic commissions of inquiry from professional societies and the University of Michigan, who investigated possible wrongdoing by Chagnon and the other scientists. The results exonerated Napoleon Chagnon, however, the author Patrick Tierny, however, accused an investigation team from the University of California in Santa Barbara explicitly slander and falsification.

The film "The Yanomami - Abuse in the Primeval Forest" (OT: Segredos da Tribo by José Padilha , 2010) took up Tierny's allegations again. The working method, motivation and results of Chagnon's investigations forty years earlier were critically questioned, for example an assignment by the American Atomic Energy Agency, the practice, research results through large amounts of material goods, e.g. B. to “buy” axes and machetes, or a disregard of the duty of care that led to the introduction of fatal diseases through the visit of the research team. Napoleon Chagnon again denied the substantive justification of the allegations.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cornelia Dean: Napoleon Chagnon, 81, Controversial Anthropologist, Is Dead. In: The New York Times , September 30, 2019. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  2. ^ Dieter Haller (text), Bernd Rodekohr (illustrations): Dtv-Atlas Ethnologie. 2nd edition, dtv, Munich 2010, p. 153.
  3. ↑ Dieter Haller, Atlas de etnología, Ediciones Akal Verlag, 1st edition, Madrid 2011, ISBN 978-8446025801 , p. 153
  4. ↑ see link to the published letter on: 'Brutale Wilde': Debate about violence among indigenous peoples continues , article on survivalinternational.de from February 26, 2013, accessed on August 9, 2020.
  5. ↑ 'Brutale Wilde': Debate about violence among indigenous peoples continues , article on survivalinternational.de from February 26, 2013, accessed on August 10, 2020.
  6. ↑ see the following Spiegel article from October 2nd, 2000, which reproduced the - later refuted - accusations of Tierny against Chagnon: Fairy tale of the manslaughter sex with young Indians? Experiments with measles viruses? Staged tribal feuds? Researchers from the west are said to have misused South America's Yanomami for human experiments in: DER SPIEGEL 40/2000
  7. ↑ outcome of the investigation leading Provostes the University of Michigan in November 2000
  8. ^ Preliminary report of a commission of inquiry of the Department of Anthropology at the University of California at Santa Barbara from October 2001
  9. ↑ The Yanomami abuse in the jungle | arte , summary of the film by film by José Padilha, February 4, 2015, accessed on August 9, 2020.
  10. ↑ Elizabeth Edwards: Napoleon Chagnon, Anthropologist, Discusses His Dramatic Career from Northern Michigan. August 3, 2010, accessed August 11, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Chagnon, Napoleon
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Chagnon, Napoleon Alphonseau (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American anthropologist
DATE OF BIRTH August 27, 1938
PLACE OF BIRTH Port Austin , Michigan
DATE OF DEATH September 21, 2019
Place of death Traverse City , Michigan