Physical adaptations involves physical adaptations that have been changed over a long period of time and have shaped the animal or human’s body to fit in different changing conditions.
Cultural adaptations are humans and their societies having to overcome changes to their natural and social environment by modifying their culture.
To start off, the Zulu tribe of Africa are located in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, known to the tribe as the Zulu Kingdom. The geography of this part of Africa consists of hills, mountains, and a high plateau area. The area has a subtropical climate, that remains warm all year except in some parts of the land. During the summers, the weather is typically hot with occasional rain fall, and during the winters, the conditions are warm, dry, and sunny. During the winters though, the higher elevations of the Drakensberg receive freezing temperatures and snow. The Zulu tribe have adapted the physical adaptation of darkly pigmentation in their skin, caused by the subtropical conditions they live in, as well as the coast, due to the UV rays bouncing off of the ocean. This dark pigmentation helps keep homeostasis by protecting the skin from UV rays, as well as keep water balance. The Zulu tribe has also adapted cultural adaptations, such as the clothing they wear. Because of the subtropical climate, single women tend to wear short skirts made of either grass, or beads, while women who are married or taken will cover their chests. The men of the tribe wear nothing but an animal skin apron, and sometimes wear cow tails around their biceps or calf’s. The race I would use to describe the Zulu tribe would be black or African American, because that is the typical race associated with people and cultures from Africa. I believe using the physical and cultural adaptations are more efficient and explanatory than just using race, and I believe a cultural anthropologist would use these adaptations to describe, rather than their race.
The Zulu tribe’s darkly pigmented skin:
Zulu women wearing traditional clothing:
-“Zulu.” Http://Www.krugerpark.co.za, www.krugerpark.co.za/africa_zulu.ht
-Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “KwaZulu-Natal.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 19 Apr. 2017, www.britannica.com/place/KwaZulu-Natal.
The Andean Indians live among south Central America, to north South America. The Andean Indians live in a tropical climate with dense forest, that’s marked with precipitation rather than temperature. The lowlands of the area are mostly hot, but range in temperature throughout the mountain range and islands. Certain areas contain heavy rainfall that support the forest, while other areas have little to no rainfall, supporting nothing but little grass. The area in in very high elevation ranging close to 23,000 feet, making it exceptionally hard to breath. A physical adaptation the Andean Indians had to evolve to are being able to breath and work in high altitudes, due to the elevation. The Andean Indians have enlarged lungs, allowing them to breath in the dense air, and allowing their heart to breath faster and their lungs to expand larger. A cultural adaptation the Andean Indians have acquired is creating an agricultural system in which they can grow food and crops. This can be especially hard due to the high elevation which stunts plants growth. They found out how to freeze dry meat and fish to preserve over the cold winter months. I would describe the group as Indians because of the name Andean Indians, which leads me to believe that they’re Indians, or South Americans, rather than any other race. I believe describing the adaptations has a higher significance and in depth view of this culture rather than just using race to describe them.
This is the physical adaptation of the enlarged lungs, but the lungs aren’t ones from an Andean Indian:
This is a picture of Andean Indians freeze drying crops to preserve:
Heath, Dwight B. “Central American and Northern Andean Indian.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Dia Britannica, Inc., 12 Mar. 2010, www.britannica.com/topic/Central-American-Indian.
Hi Dylan, I liked the research you included and thought the fact that Andean Indians freeze dried their crops in order to preserve them, but I wanted to know the reason why you think the adaptations are useful rather than race because you didn't mention it in your response.
ReplyDeleteZulu:
ReplyDeleteGood description of the environment of the Zulu, and well done explaining the physical adaptation of higher melanin levels to deal with solar radiation stress.
You describe the clothing, but are these adaptations to heat stress or solar radiation stress?
"African American" only describes those individuals who live in America but can trace their ancestry to the African continent. Zulu live in Africa, not America, so this doesn't work for them. "Black" is a more logical choice.
Andean:
Very good description of their environment and well done describing both their physical and cultural adaptations.
Your choice of race is a logical one.
Summary:
"I believe describing the adaptations has a higher significance and in depth view of this culture rather than just using race to describe them. "
This section should have been expanded. It was worth the most points and required more explanation.
It actually goes beyond "significance" and "depth". It is actually a question of is it *possible* to explain human variation based upon race. We know that we can better understand human variation by studying the varying traits in terms of their environment, i.e., the environment has "explanatory power" over how humans vary. Does race have this power?
To answer this question, you have to figure out what "race" actually is. 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.
Do you think that the subtropical climate encourages the Zulu to wear less because wearing more would likely be a detriment to their homeostasis? That is, substantial clothing would trap in heat and sweat rather than letting the sweat evaporate off to cool them down.
ReplyDelete