Final answer:
Boas argued that many travel writers and anthropologists displayed an ethnocentric and racist attitude towards indigenous peoples. They justified colonial pursuits by dehumanizing native populations and used stereotypes like the 'noble savage' to portray indigenous peoples as uncivilized.
Step-by-step explanation:
Boas argued that publications of many travel writers displayed an ethnocentric attitude towards indigenous peoples. Franz Boas was a pioneering figure in anthropology who critiqued the ethnocentric and racist theories prevalent in the late 19th and early 20th centuries within the field. He challenged the notion that cultures develop along a universal trajectory towards what was termed "civilization" and emphasized that cultures have unique historical developments and are in constant flux, influenced by the exchange of ideas.
Writings from the period show varied attitudes towards indigenous people, ranging from paternalistic views to outright racism. Early colonial writers justified their pursuit of wealth and land in the New World by depicting native populations as humble and subservient, which they believed made colonization easier, as seen in the writings of Bartolomé de Las Casas. The dehumanization of native peoples was common, with travel writers and colonizers often treating them as objects or beasts, as Las Casas observed firsthand in his accounts.
The concept of the "noble savage" stereotype was also employed, which portrayed Indigenous peoples as living in harmony with nature but also as uncivilized and thus without the same rights as Europeans. This contributed to a historical pattern of disempowerment and dispossession of Indigenous territories.