ANTH 425 Power and Change
6 October 2011
PAPER PROPOSAL DUE!!!
War in small scale societies: the famous case of the Yanomami
Read: Ferguson, R. Brian (2001) "Materialist, cultural and biological theories on why Yanomami make war." Anthropological Theory 1(1): 99-116.
- why has so much attention been paid to Yanomami warfare?
- what does Ferguson say are the major competing explanations? And what are their strengths and weaknesses?
- his materialist (and more or less cultural materialist) explanation
- cultural versions (especially Peters, Albert, Lizot)
- sociobiological approaches (especially Chagnon)
- can what Yanomami do be taken as indicative of how warfare in all societies happens?
- if so, is this because of some essential human biological predisposition, or due to common human reactions to similar pressures?
- or is there more complexity to warfare?