Environmental Adaptations
The largest rural concentration of Zulu people is in Kwa-Zulu Natal. The climate is humid and averages upwards of 70 degrees Fahrenheit. It is hot in the summers with occasional rain, and dry and sunny in the winters. This climate provides high UV exposure, along with heat, that can be difficult for the population.
One way the Zulu people have adapted physically to this climate is their darker complexion. Increased levels of melanin helps to shield the skin from excess UV radiation, as well as limit the likelihood of sunburns. This is very important for a group of people that spend the majority of their days out in the sun and heat.
Example of Zulu peoples' complexion
Another way the Zulu people have adapted to their environment is through their cultural practices. The Zulu people have a long history with conflict due to colonial powers. This constant violence in their environment has impacted their culture and caused adaptations. One such adaptation is an emphasis on the physical strength of men and boys in Zulu culture. When conflict arises, men will often duel each other with sticks until blood is drawn, and then the winner will tend to the loser's wounds. In the case of death, no charges are brought up as long as the rules of the duel were followed. This allows the Zulu people to maintain a sense of order in their community, which relies on a patriarchal order to run.
Zulu stick fighting
The Andean Indians inhabit the high altitudes of the Andes Mountains. The climate is typically very harsh, and can seem to span multiple seasons in one day, with weather changing from hot in the day to below freezing in the night time. There is a rainy season (January to March) and dry season (April to December). One of the harshest elements of this climate is the altitude, with the highest peak reaching an elevation of about 6,961 m (22,838 ft) above sea level. One way the Andean Indians have adapted physically to their environment is the way they have evolved to tolerate the high elevation. At high altitudes, hypoxia and/or elevation sickness is very common. Luckily, even with short term exposure to high elevation, acclimatization is able to take place. This includes more red blood cells and capillaries to help carry oxygen, as well as increased lung capacity and vascular network of muscles. This acclimatization has taken place in a more long term way in the Andean people, allowing them to adapt to the altitude.
One way that the Andean people have adapted culturally to the harsh environment is freeze drying different foods. Because of the drastic changes in temperature throughout the day, cultivating crops consistently can be difficult. The Andean people found a way to use these freezing nighttime temperatures to their advantage by leaving potatoes out at night on a bed of straw. In the morning they would squeeze out all the excess moisture and leave them in the sun, and then repeat the process for the following days. This resulted in freeze dried potatoes, called chuño, which can keep for 10 years. This was a genius cultural adaptation to continue to provide food even when crops would not grow.  Andean woman with freeze dried potatoes If I were to describe the Zulu people with one race it would be Black. Alternatively I would use African but I presume that would qualify as a nationality. I would use this race because of their dark skin, hair texture, and wider set features. I would describe the Andean people as Latino or Native based on their outward appearance (hair texture, skin tone, facial features) but again, Latino is not a race and Native can refer to any region. I think that Anthropologists will find cultural and environmental adaptations much more useful to their research and descriptions than simply trying to define a group of people by race. Race is a tricky area that is hard to pin down, and relies heavily on stereotypes and physical features to be descriptive. On the other hand, describing a people's environment and culture allows the anthropologists to learn more about the actual behavior and lifestyle of people without falling into stereotypes. Sources: Zulu: Andean: |
Zulu:
ReplyDeleteVery good opening discussion of the environment, hitting on the two key stresses, heat and solar radiation.
Physical: Great explanation here for your chosen physical adaptation.
Cultural: I'm struggling to understand how the cultural traits you identify are adaptation to environmental stresses of heat and/or solar radiation. Examples that would fit this criteria would be things like the lighter, more minimal clothing they wear (which is only possible because of the darker skin) and the well-insulated and very cool housing structures they build. Both cultural adaptations deal with heat stress.
Race: I agree with your choice of race for the Zulu.
Andean:
Great discussion on the environment, identifying most of the stresses facing the Andeans, but what about solar radiation? Being higher up in altitude means less atmosphere between you and the sun, which increases the danger of solar radiation.
Physical: Good. I will note that the short term adaptations to high altitude is very different from long term genetic changes that produce the adaptations we see in the Andean (and Tibetan) populations. Andeans are *born* with larger lung capacity and more red blood cells. They don't have to change to produce these.
Cultural: Very good explanation here. Other adaptations could be the use of alpacas and terracing in their mountainous environment.
Race: Latino is really an ethnic group, not a race. "Native American" would be more accurate.
Conclusion:
Overall, on the right track here, but let's dig a bit deeper into the problem of race and why the environmental approach is far more powerful from an explanatory perspective.
Race is not based in biology but is a social construct, based in beliefs and preconceptions, and used only to categorize humans into groups based upon external physical features, much like organizing a box of crayons by color. Race does not *cause* adaptations like environmental stress do, and without that causal relationship, you can't use race to explain adaptations. Race has no explanatory value over human variation.
Its interesting to read about the conflict resolution of other cultures and how different they are from our own, well at least our more recent ways of dealing with conflict resolution. I also found reading about the ability of the Andeans to utilize freeze dying to be very interesting. I always thought that freeze drying was a more recent advancement and never realized that it could be done not with a machine. There is much that can be learned about a great many things while studying other cultures.
ReplyDelete