In Patrick Tierneys article The Fierce Anthropologist, he discussed the faults that are, or may be, present in Napoleon Chagnons anthropological research of the Yanamamo, or The Fierce People, as Chagnon has referred to them in his best-selling book on the people. Due to Chagnons unparalleled body of work in terms of quantity and, as many argue, quality, Marvin Harris draws heavily on his research to support his point, which is that the origin of war is ecological and reproductive pressure. One should question Harriss theories (and all theories), especially in the light of the aforementioned article, but I do not believe his arguments are, or should be, adversely affected by the information presented in this article.The claim that the Yanamamo are an extremely militant people is pervasive in Chagnons work, and Harris uses this as the basis for his arguments. However, Tierney claims that Chagnons account of Yanamami warfare seemed greatly exaggerated. (Pg. 54). Another integral part of Chagnons research, which Harris cites, was that the Yamamamo wage war because of women. John Peters, in Tierneys article, presented a differing opinion stating that, these raids [referring to the four raids carried out in half a century by a group that Chagnon said demonstrated the most extreme form of Yanamami treachery. (Pg. 54).] had been provoked not by competition for women, as Chagnon had written, but by the spread of new diseases, which prompted angry accusations of witchcraft.These, among a slew of other discrepancies, cast an especially doubtful light on Chagnons research, and thus Harriss conclusions. Harris reasons that if Yanamamo warfare is indeed caused by fights over women that this is caused not only by lack of females due to female infanticide which is legitimized through male supremacy which is legitimized through warfare, but also the males failure to bring home meat. In Cannibals and Kings Harris writes, From the account of Helena Val...
