Synopses & Reviews
In 2000, the world of anthropology was rocked by a high-profile debate over the fieldwork performed by two prominent anthropologists, Napoleon Chagnon and James V. Neel, among the Yanamamo tribe of South America. The controversy was fueled by the publication of Patrick Tierney's incendiary
Darkness in El Dorado which accused Chagnon of not only misinterpreting but actually inciting some of the violence he perceived among these "fierce people". Tierney also pointed the finger at Neel as the unwitting agent of a deadly measles outbreak.
Attracting a firestorm of attention, Tierney's book went straight to the heart of anthropology's most pressing questions: What are the right ways to study a tribal people? How can scientists avoid unduly influencing those among whom they live? What guidelines should govern the interactions - economic, social, medical, and sexual - between a scientist in the field and the people being studied?
This volume represents anthropology's thoughtful, measured reply to the issues raised by this heated controversy. Placing the dispute within the context of ongoing debates over the ethics of biomedical research among human populations, the contributors to this volume discuss how the interaction between investigators and their subjects can most sensibly be governed. They consider the responsibility of the media in disseminating anti-scientific and pseudo-scientific views, and how scientists might best educate journalists to enable them to effectively educate others.
In the wake of what was widely construed as a major scientific scandal, this landmark volume lays out in detail the principles and ground rules of anthropological and scientific fieldwork.
About the Author
Francisco M. Salzano is Emeritus Professor of Genetics at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
A. Magdalena Hurtado is Associate Professor in the Human Evolutionary Ecology Program in the Department of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico.
Table of Contents
Section I: Lost Paradises
1. Introduction, A. Madgalena Hurtado and Francisco Salzano
Section II. Historical Contexts
2. Voices from the Dead: James Neel's Amerindian Studies, Susan Lindee
3. James Neel and Japan, Francisco Salzano
4. Politics and Science, Paul Gross
5. Why genetic studies in tribal populations?, Francisco Salzano
Section III. Epidemiological contexts
6. Emerging health needs and epidemiological research, Carlos Coimbra and Ricardo Santos
7. The nexus of Yanomamo health, growth and demography, Raymond Hames and Jennifer Kuzara
8. Disease Susceptibility among New World Peoples, Francis Black
9. Public health and adaptive immunity among South American natives, A. Magdalena Hurtado, Ins Hurtado and Kim Hill
Section IV. The Future
10. The ethics of anthropological research with remote tribal populations, Kim Hill and A. Magdalena Hurtado
11. A. Magdalena Hurtado and Francisco Salzano