Talk:Patrick Tierney (author)

Speedy delete nomination

Patrick Tierney was a highly significant figure in the controversy surrounding Chagnon's research in the Amazon. If I recall correctly the American Anthropological Association had a special meeting specifically to discuss the charges he made in his book. It was one of the largest anthropological controversies in a decade, in my view. This guy is most certainly notable. WP even has his book on Darkness in El Dorado. --Hansnesse 23:03, 30 January 2006 (UTC)

It was never speedy deletion material. The VFD procedure should be used instead. Deb 23:07, 30 January 2006 (UTC)

Is this article justified?

95% of it covers the same material as Darkness in El Dorado, namely the controversy. A redirect seems more appropriate. 5.12.84.31 (talk) 01:01, 25 March 2013 (UTC)

Indigocat just restored the page to the old page rather than redirecting to Darkness in El Dorado. There might be a good argument for doing this, but the restored page is of such poor quality and justifications given by Indigocat are not backed up by outside sources that I don't think this should be done yet. I'm not certain of the official/best process here. I reverted to the redirect page and suggest that we weigh the justification for a new page on the talk section here and perhaps even start to write the replacement page here. To this end, I am pasting the previous version of the page here for us to re-work together into something better. I note that the below has few sources, seems biased, and that that Tierney has no credentials as a journalist (an edit I have incorporated into other related articles without debate from other editors).

Patrick Tierney is a controversial Pittsburgh-based journalist who is the author of three books based on frequent visits to and field research in South America. As a mountain climber, he has worked with Johan Reinhard. He has made important discoveries of Inca ceremonial mountaintop sites and, with Reinhard, was the first person to climb Mt. Del Veladero (21,115 ft) in Argetina. An Inca ceremonial platofrm and sacrificial site was discovered on top. Tierney has climbed all of the highest peaks in the Andes.

Tierney's first book, 'The Highest Altar: Unveiling the Mystery of Human Sacrifice' (Penguin, New York, 1990), was the result of being sent to do research in South America for Omni magazine between 1983 and 1989. The book discusses theories about Inca human sacrifice, and compares this to human sacrifices in Chile and Peru today. Tierney investigates a human sacrifice in Chile of a young boy, Jose Luis Panecur, as a collective activity by the Mapuche people in 1960. This sacrifice is fairly well-documented. Tierney then investigates other recent sacrifices in Peru. Tierney closes the book by discussing the work of Hyam Maccoby, who put forward a controversial version of Jewish and Christian history. The book was fairly well-received, but reviewers asked whether Tierney's informants were not treating as human sacrifices what were plain drug-related murders with ritual aspects, a view that was also taken by one of the principal shamans Tierney interviewed.

Tierney then published 'Last Tribes of El Dorado: The Gold Wars in the Amazon Rain Forest' (Viking, 1997). The book discusses gold mining operations in the territory of the Yanomami people of the Amazon, alleging killings and severe human rights abuses by independent miners and gold-mining companies.

In 2000, Tierney published 'Darkness in El Dorado: How Scientists and Journalists Devastated the Amazon' (Norton, 2000). The boook criticised the practices of scientists and anthropologists and made severe accusations against geneticist James Neel and anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon. This controversy is discussed in more depth on the relevant page. At first taken seriously, investigations later found bad research, improper citations, and many other faults, and Tierney was accused of deliberate fraud. Although the book led to changes and improvements in the governance of anthropological investigation, Tierney's reputation was severely tarnished and he has since kept a low profile and seldom defended his work in public.

Much of Tierney's work and research is controversial and not well accepted. He has attacked and criticised established beliefs and powerful figures. Nevertheless, he has made important contributions and suggestions, particularly in the field of high-altitude Inca archeology.

Pengortm (talk) 14:34, 1 December 2013 (UTC)