The Zulu tribe lives in the region of present day
KwaZulu-Natal on South Africa’s east coast. . The environment is mountain
coastal, It is an area that receives snow in the mountains in the winter and in
the summer it can go from rain to very hot and humid temperatures from the
coast. The Zulu tribe utilized the
fertile soil and amount of rainfall they received 1000mm annually and agriculture
became a very important way of life. The difference in temperature from the
harsh hot summer to cold winter cam be challenging and making it difficult to
maintain homeostasis.
The clothing the Zulu’s wear is a physical adaptation of
their environment. Men will mainly wear cow hide just to cover the front and
back of the private area of the body and young women simply wear beads around
their neck. This is how they combat the heat.
The cultural adaptation of the Zulu tribe is affected by
globalization. The Zulus all lived in huts now most of them live in modern houses
which have improved the ability to maintain homeostasis.
If I had to pick a race I would pick African American
because they look similar to the African Americans in our culture, they have
very few similarities other than that though.
The Andean Indians live in the Andes range in South America,
all the way from Ecuador to Peru to Chile, and including both the coast and the
mountains. They mostly lived in an area that was 10,000 – 13,000 feet above sea
level. In the High cold planes it is summer every day and winter every night.
The wool from the llama and alpaca was used to make warm clothing so the Andeans
could survive in the freezing winter nights in such high elevations.
The Andean’s had to learn to survive at high elevations,
having 200-300 frost nights a year; they had to figure out a way for supplying
food. They developed a way to freeze dry meat, fish, and vegetables to maintain
their food supply for their community that will last them. They created food
storage shelters for their freeze dried food.
I would describe the Andean Indians as Spanish, because they most
resemble them although they are mixed with white, Indian and African.
I do not like to categorize cultures based on the physical
attributes, it doesn’t give you much about who they are or what they are about.
I believe to use the cultural adaptations is the most useful approach for
Anthropologist to use.
I agree with you Cristal. Though physically many ethnic groups are identified through their common physical attributes. These also let themselves identified in what ethnic group they belong. Adaptation is very important in order for the ethnic group survive. Thats why I think these answers to why they look similar to each other and also environment plays a big factor for adaptation.
ReplyDeleteI agree that categorizing a population by their physical appearance is not the most effective way. Doing so gives little understanding of a population's culture and their way of life. Many people can be grouped as "white", but can come from all parts of the world, with all different cultures. It does not describe any detail about the life of each population, which can be very diverse from group to group.
ReplyDeleteOverall, good job with a couple of points that need clarification:
ReplyDeleteClothing type is actually a cultural adaption, not physical. Physical traits will involve actual changes to the human body, such as skin color, body shape, eye color, metabolism, etc. Can you identify physical adaptations to both the Zulu and the Andean environments?
Do you think the modern houses of the Zulu are more adaptive to the hot climate than their traditional homes? The new ones usually have metal roofs... :-) Sounds hot to me.
Regarding your choice of African American for the Zulu, think of those terms separately. Is either "African" or "American" a race? Consider how race is defined, usually by outward appearance. You are characterizing the Zulu more by geography than by race.
Physical adaptations of the Zulu tribe would have to be the added levels of melanin in their skin. The melanin protects the skin from ultraviolet radiation. Which enables the Zulu's to withstand the extreme sun.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the Andean Tribe one of the physical adaptations of their tribe living at such high altitude is that they produce more hemoglobin in their blood which then creates more oxygen for their lungs.
I think it seems that the modern houses would be hotter in the summer but warmer for them in the winter. I believe that their original houses are probably more effective.
I understand what you are saying about race and how I characterized the Zulu geographically. I would say Black rather than African American. I have always struggled with this one due to the fact I come from mixed races and never identified with one race.