Final answer:
Evolutionary anthropology has been critiqued for its historical complicity in colonialism, promotion of ethnocentric biases, and reinforcement of social inequalities, with Native scholars challenging the silencing of Indigenous perspectives and academic prioritization.
Step-by-step explanation:
Some of the notable critiques of evolutionary anthropology center on its historical complicity in colonialism, its ethnocentric ethnocentric bias, and its promotion of social inequalities. In the 1960s, these critiques were intensified as Native scholars and others protested the silencing of Indigenous voices and the privileging of academic scholarship over Native perspectives. The most scathing critique came in Willis's 1972 article "Skeletons in the Anthropological Closet," which condemned the discipline for its complacency regarding racial exploitation and its Eurocentric approach.
Early anthropological theories like cultural evolutionism, which were proposed by figures such as Edward Tylor, were critiqued for their tendency to theorize from the armchair, making hypothetical conjectures about cultural progression. This perspective often labeled non-European societies as less evolved or 'primitive.' Moreover, the entire field has been castigated for its role in furthering colonization, as anthropologists were seen as extracting knowledge from Indigenous peoples for academic purposes, without adequate respect for the actual lived experiences and rights of those communities.