Anthropology - Paper 13
Anthropology proves to be satisfying and intellectually fulfilling to many in the field.
However, there are also many challenges and bumps in the road along the way. Napolean A. Chagnon and
Claire Sterk faced many of these challenges themselves. During his fieldwork with the Yanomamo, Chagnon faced many challenges interacting with the natives. Chagnon could not practically communicate with the people until about six months after he arrived. He notes ? the hardest thing to live with was the incessant, passioned, and often aggressive demands they would make.? An example of this is the natives threatening with a shout such as; ?If you don?t take me with you on your next boat trip to Widokalyateri, I?ll chop a hole in your canoe!? While trying to collect genealogies, Chagnon found it very frustrating and commented ? I could not have deliberately picked a more difficult people to work with in this regard.?
This was because he first tried to use the names they called each other, not knowing that the names they called each other were completely ambiguous and didn?t mean anything. He then later found out , after collecting all the genealogical information, that only the living members were accurate and the deceased listed were mostly fake. He had to start all over. (
Chagnon 5)
Sterk did a different type of study on prostitution and how it went on during a time when AIDS was a major problem. This type of fieldwork is ethnographic fieldwork. Sterk had to get established in rough neighborhoods, crack houses, and sidewalks of busy streets. She first and foremost had to locate her samples by asking local taxi-drivers, bartenders , and
AIDS clinics. Developing a relationship and trust with women who had never had any trustworthy people in their lives was quite challenging as well. Sterk was once followed home by one of the woman?s pimps and his friends, and was jumped. The woman admitted to Sterk over a year later that they
However, there are also many challenges and bumps in the road along the way. Napolean A. Chagnon and
Claire Sterk faced many of these challenges themselves. During his fieldwork with the Yanomamo, Chagnon faced many challenges interacting with the natives. Chagnon could not practically communicate with the people until about six months after he arrived. He notes ? the hardest thing to live with was the incessant, passioned, and often aggressive demands they would make.? An example of this is the natives threatening with a shout such as; ?If you don?t take me with you on your next boat trip to Widokalyateri, I?ll chop a hole in your canoe!? While trying to collect genealogies, Chagnon found it very frustrating and commented ? I could not have deliberately picked a more difficult people to work with in this regard.?
This was because he first tried to use the names they called each other, not knowing that the names they called each other were completely ambiguous and didn?t mean anything. He then later found out , after collecting all the genealogical information, that only the living members were accurate and the deceased listed were mostly fake. He had to start all over. (
Chagnon 5)
Sterk did a different type of study on prostitution and how it went on during a time when AIDS was a major problem. This type of fieldwork is ethnographic fieldwork. Sterk had to get established in rough neighborhoods, crack houses, and sidewalks of busy streets. She first and foremost had to locate her samples by asking local taxi-drivers, bartenders , and
AIDS clinics. Developing a relationship and trust with women who had never had any trustworthy people in their lives was quite challenging as well. Sterk was once followed home by one of the woman?s pimps and his friends, and was jumped. The woman admitted to Sterk over a year later that they