Chagnon, the Yanomamo, and Darkness at El Dorado

The publication in 2000 of Darkness in El Dorado by Patrick Tierney created a firestorm of controversy in the International Anthropological community. In this book, Tierney discusses a variety of ethical and scientific issues surrounding anthropological studies during the 1960s and 19702 of the Yanomamo people of Brazil. The main protagonist (antihero?) of this tale of alleged ethical and scientific misconduct is University of Michigan cultural anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon, whose book Yanomamo: The Fierce People was one of the best selling ethnographies of all time. Tierney criticizes Chagnon's behavior as unethical, and questions some of Chagnon's major conclusions concerning Yanomamo society, especially the notion that violence among Yanomamo males was an evolutionary strategy rewarded by greater fitness. I've made available a sample of reviews of Tierney's book and journalistic pieces about the Anthropological reaction to Tierney's charges for you to read on Mediafire. I'm looking forward to your reactions to this very controversial issue.