Allen Holmberg, an anthropologist and former head of the anthropology department at Cornell University, conducted a thorough study on the Siriono, a Native American group residing in Bolivia, during his doctoral studies. While living with the Siriono people, Holmberg meticulously examined their ways of life and documented his findings in the book known as Nomads of the Longbow. Despite the book’s accuracy overall, Holmberg unfortunately made a significant error during his research.
According to Holmberg, the Siriono were considered to be one of the most culturally undeveloped groups in the world. He characterized them as a completely unproductive population who constantly suffer from hunger. They lack clothing, domesticated animals, artistic expression, musical instruments, and the ability to count beyond three or generate fire. Additionally, they possess no semblance of religious belief or a coherent understanding of the universe and their role within it. In essence, the Siriono can be viewed as remnants from the ancient Stone Age era who, despite thousands of years of existence, have never progressed beyond a primitive cultural stage.
Allen Holmberg was mistaken in his belief that the language spoken by the Siriono people, Tupi-Guarani, was also spoken in Bolivia. In reality, this language was native to a region much further north. Consequently, it implies that the Siriono people migrated southward, likely due to some specific motive. It is worth mentioning that during the 1940s, medical resources were scarce, particularly for illnesses that were not yet known.
Due to the small population during Holmberg’s time living with the Siriono people, they likely engaged in intra-group mating to ensure their survival. In the 1940s, racial discrimination was prevalent, as evidenced by Hitler’s mass killings of Jews based on their differences. A similar pattern can be observed in America, where Native Americans were subjected to displacement and westward expansion for the acquisition of more land. Therefore, it is probable that a comparable situation occurred with the Siriono.
Despite my initial difficulty in finding the mistake, I eventually identified it while reading the last paragraph of the given handout. This section indicated that the Siriono had remained relatively unchanged for thousands of years, which seemed implausible considering their small population of only 150 individuals. Moreover, the error became evident when I encountered information about their language; typically, communities do not speak a different language than the dominant one in their area.
Before passing judgments, scholars must extensively analyze the historical background of a group. The Jewish population in concentration camps during Hitler’s rule serves as an example of this importance. Based on this context alone, it might seem simple to assume that all Jews were malnourished. Similarly, Allen Holmberg made hasty conclusions about the Siriono due to his limited understanding of their past. If he had observed them earlier, it is probable that his interpretations in 1942 would have been dissimilar.
