From 1966 to 1969, Godelier conducted his first major anthropological field study on the Baruya in Papua New Guinea. His research provided significant contributions to the limited understanding of New Guinea cultures. In 1982, he used his research to write an ethnography on the Baruya. The book, entitled "The Making of Great Men", discusses sex- and gender-based inequality and provided insight into the systems of power in Melanesia. His analysis of the systems of power was further developed in "Big Men and Great Men", published in 1991, which he co-edited with Marilyn Strathern.