Jared Diamond, LamaLera

Jared Diamond is in hot water. He wrote in April 21, 2008 New Yorker a story of tribal vengeance. Naming names, accusing then of serious 'crimes' according to stinkyjournalism
nzherald has a summary of the story
New Yorker says it stands by the story, a $10M lawsuit is abroad
google
theaustralian(pdf) has a complaint from Mako John Kuwimb

Daniel Wemp and Henep Isum file a summons and sue for 10 million dollars in the Supreme Court of the State of New York--charge famed UCLA scientist and best-selling author Jared Diamond and Advance Publications (aka The New Yorker magazine and Times-Picayune newspaper) with defamation, April 20, 2009.

The original Jared Diamond, Annals of Anthropology, “Vengeance Is Ours,” The New Yorker, April 21, 2008, p. 74 is supposed to have been removed, or paywalled? or available google

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re #44 buddy66

Maori settled in Aotearoa-New Zealand some time before 1380CE. they had "sweet potatoes" (kumera) and one "potato", both from Polynesia, assumed to originate from the Americas, (in an unknown epoch)
Maori has a culture with no grains, no metals, no meat-or-transport-mammals (their dogs didnt feature heavily in diet, presumably because they were difficult to feed)
They rather rapidly drove the large Moa birds to extinction, and taught seals to avoid humans.
Of the skeletons unearthed from pre-whaler times, few are above 30 years old.

Maori built no stone buildings, but their wood, bone and jade carvings and tattoos are now held in the highest regard.
...It seems definitely established that Maori practiced cannibalism. Not merely ceremonial, but practical. On long journeys South to get Pounamu (Jade) they are said to have taken slaves to be eaten on the trip.
They did store kumera in pits. This seemed to have sustained/provoked a culture of constant (summer) warfare. While I Hitch-hiked through Northland NZ, a Maori driver pointed out to me that almost every hilltop showed remnants of terracing, where pallisaded forts (Pa) had been constructed with immense labour. Primarily to protect kumera pits, also to protect young women from raids.
The warfare was limited in impact because the wooden palisades were effective defence against hand weapons. Maori had darts, but no bows afaik.

...My driver told me the story about one Southern (Waikato) war-party who traveled North, and attacked a Pa. Failing to seize it, they were about to leave. The defenders, desiring to prolong the fight, sallied out and seized the chief of the Waikoto tribe (nb Waikato is a region not an Iwi-Tribe name), took him inside the Pa and strung him up between two trees. The battle carried on. The attackers changed their name to "Sons of the outstretched one"
Once whalers and sealers arrived ca 1800 with muskets,axes, and planked ships, balances of power changed dramatically.

my comment posted in boingboing

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LamaLera whalers
Video of Indonesian ' Traditional Whaling"
aljazeera
Now I'm a passionate defender of the whales (I wear a sea shepherd Tee) but I'm inclined to give these guys a few.
Anyone who jumps, onto a sperm whale with a non-explosive harpoon deserves something.
Small boats, no motor, only paddles.

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They catch around 30 whales a year. If theyre all sperm whales thats not so bad. Perhaps a compromise... more than the one per year, less than 30?
LamaLera Sahul Sea near Flores


for $575 you can floresexotictours have
"...your adventure with local boat to find out the sperm whale or other animals ie: dolpins, manta rays, turtle. if you are lucky you will directly seeing how the people catching the whale by using traditional gear."
I dont think I would go on a boat of any size to see any whale being killed...