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The current YanomamoÈ scandal:
Neel, Chagnon et al
by Chris van Vuuren
Senior Lecturer
Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, Unisa
Chris van Vuuren
American anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon (YanomamoÈ:
The fierce people 1968, `77, `83, `92, `97) has
been the target of academic criticism (starting in
1979) which culminated in a number of discourses
and debates (see Van Vuuren in Unisa Latin American
Report 10(2) 1994). To summarize these: he was
accused by anthropologists such as Da Cunha and
Ramos of portraying the YanomamoÈ of Venezuela and
Brazil as `fierce' and `war-like' which, it was argued,
provided governments and garimpeiros with an
excuse to wilfully attack and terminate these tribal
communities. Secondly, he was accused of advocating
neo-Darwinist `survival of the fittest' theories with
reference to the so-called sexual rewards for revengeand-kill
warriors (so-called unokais)
Now, even worse, he is implicated in a major
scandal which might cause anthropology and the
American Anthropological Association (AAA), in
particular, long term damage. An investigative journalist
named Patrick Tierney is publishing a book
(sometime in October 2000) `Darkness in El Dorado'
in which he claims that Chagnon, Tim Asch (the
visual anthropologist who made Chagnon's YanomamoÈ
films (`The Axe Fight' and others) and geneticist
Dr James Neel have conducted medical experiments
under the YanamamoÈ for close to 35 years.
Among other gross human rights violations Neel is
said to have injected YanamamoÈ with radioactive
iodine isotopes and might also have been the cause of
the measles epidemic in 1968 which saw hundreds or
even thousands of YanomamoÈ perishing. He alleges
that Neel injected the YanomamoÈ with a virulent
vaccine called Edmonson B which caused or worsened
the epidemic. Neel's experiments carried the
support of the US Atomic Energy Commission. Neel
worked at the Center for Human Genetics at Ann
Arbor (Michigan University) at the time. Intrigued by
the notion of `innate leadership' and reproductive
success as Chagnon coined it, Neel believed that the
isolated Amazonian YanamamoÈ population would
serve as the ideal springboard for his experiments
and theory.
Tierney alleges that Chagnon and Neel worked
closely together. He also alleges that Chagnon's
obsession with Hobbesian human savagery spurred
him on to invite Asch to film a YanamamoÈ axe fight
which the former enacted, thus adding to the `fierce'
image portrayal. In fact, it is alleged that Chagnon's
staging of aggression aggravated warfare indirectly in
the region. Tierney also refers to Chagnon's sexual
abuse of YanomamoÈ women as well as French
anthropologist Jacques Lizot's `harem of Yanomami
boys that he keeps, and showers with presents in
exchange for sexual favours'.
Since the initial response to Tierney's manuscript by
Terry Turner and Leslie Sonsel of the AAA, and on
which the above summary is based, many other
responses emerged from around the globe, some in
defence of Neel, Asch and Chagnon. Chagnon himself
ISSN 0256±6060±Unisa Lat. Am. Rep. 16(2) 2000 67