The American Anthropological Association’s executive board has launched a formal inquiry into the highly publicized allegations of decades-long misconduct by anthropologists and others working in South America among the Yanomami Indians. The charges appeared in a controversial book released last year (SN: 1/27/01, p. 58). A five-person task force will probe fieldwork practices of Yanomami researchers. Task force members plan to contact Brazilian and Venezuelan officials, who are conducting related inquiries. The task force is slated to submit a final report to the executive board in November.
