The plan calls for allotting the Indians some 2.4 hectares of land spread out across 19 separate "islands." Albert and his colleagues believe that these "islands" are part of a plot to divide and conquer the Yanomamo, whose traditional lands sit on rich deposits of gold and other precious minerals. Albert also says the government justified the arrangement by stating that the Yanomamo are violent and need to be kept separate so they will stop killing each other, although Albert can't demonstrate a direct connection between Chagnon's writings and the government's Indian policy."(Booth).
Several of Chagnon's peers have criticized him for how he portrays the Indians in his articles. They are especially critical of his articles on the Brazilian Yanomamo. During Chagnon's 50 months of fieldwork on the Yanomamo Indians, all of it was done with the Yanomamo in Venezuela except of one brief period in 1967.
After reviewing the information in this article, I feel that Chagnon did more damage to the Yanomamo in Brazil than he feels he did. I believe that Chagnon gave the Brazilian government and the mining and timber companies plenty of leverage against the Yanomamo Indians of Brazil. This leverage allowed the Indians to be "controlled" and "manipulated" out of their property, homes, and lifestyle.
Now let's switch gears and explore and discuss the Yanomamo Indians' foraging activities of hunting, gathering, and fishing; as well as political organization and marriage and family. The Yanomamo are considered as shifting cultivators due to the fact that a majority of their dietary calories are from horticulture. Even though the Yanomamo primarily forage, they also do agricultural activities or gardening. .
Yanomamo village population size and land area vary. Most villages have from 30 to 90 people each, but there are some village in Venezuela that may have 200 or more people.