Final answer:
Early ethnographers often provided biased accounts of tribal societies with a prevailing ethnocentric view. Classic ethnography improved with immersive fieldwork, resulting in richer cultural representations.
Step-by-step explanation:
Early ethnographers often described the lifestyles and customs of indigenous and tribal societies. However, their accounts need to be regarded with caution, as these were sometimes biased by the preconceptions and stereotypes of the researchers. They relied on what is termed as 'armchair anthropology,' where conclusions were drawn without extensive or any fieldwork, largely from secondary sources, as was done by individuals like Lewis Henry Morgan.
Furthermore, there was an ethnocentric approach in early anthropology, where Western ways of life were considered the benchmark, and other cultures were evaluated against this standard. This led to a flawed representation of those cultures as either 'savage' or 'barbaric,' which required progression towards 'civilization' as per the European definition, a concept notably supported by Edward Tylor.