Where does anthropology end, and something else entirely begin? Throughout the story of Ishi as seen in class, I had mixed emotions. On the one hand, they paraded this poor man around like a circus animal, like some sort of attraction to be marveled at, rather than a human being with his own unique feelings and thoughts and experiences. On the other, it seemed at times that Ishi had found genuine friendship in at least one of the men who was ostensibly studying him.

I would be interested in understanding the thought process behind the decisions made by these anthropologists. Certainly, the study itself was in its infancy, and can't be expected to have been perfect by any means... but even at the time, was there no consideration for how Ishi might have felt? Even among the most morally bankrupt of the anthropologists, to whom poor Ishi would have been a lesser animal, did anybody stop to think that this is a poor way of conducting research? The whole thing feels cruel and unusual. At the very least, it highlights why modern precautions are so important when approaching other cultures.

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