Comparing Two Cultures.
The Andean Indian environment
"When traveling to high altitudes, our bodies adjust so
that our cells still receive sufficient oxygen." The human body is very adaptive. So
much so it can modify and change our cells to ensure we can get oxygen at a
higher or lower rate to sustain desired living conditions. After further examination,
our body goes through four psychological stages to survive in these climates: genetic
changes, developmental adjustment, acclimatization, cultural practices, and
technology. A great example is the Andean people living on a remote mountaintop
around 10,0000 feet above sea level. It might even be higher than that too. I
cannot imagine living on a mountain away from society or maintaining a life in
those living conditions. However, against all those odds against them, the
Andean people still managed to thrive and create agricultural systems and
technologies to adapt to sustain life on the mountaintops.
Andreans
physical adaption.
Because of the high altitude, the Andean ideas live on, and farming is also challenging. The Andeans had to adapt to this and found alternatives
to this lifestyle. As I mentioned, they have to deal with changes in the oxygen at the
altitudes because it is approximately above sea level. The oxygen is less at
these levels, and to compromise these living conditions, their body and its
organs must adapt to live. One example of this physical change is that their heart
muscles expand or grow stronger to pull more oxygen in from the lungs. This
change to the heart is needed to have homeostasis.
Andean Indian's cultural adaptation
"The Andes as Puna, there are only two seasons: summer every
day and winter every night." The climate of the Andean people's living
conditions is brutal. However, they used this temperature change at night to
freeze-dried meats like fish and mealy tubers and stored them in a housing unit.
They build a system for agriculture to farm their crops effectively. Andeans
live in the Andes Mountains on the Pacific coastline in South America. They
have cold climates and must build fires and structures for shelter to survive. When
harvesting corn or potatoes, they do so on higher grounds than lower grounds
where beans, sweet manioc, peanuts, and peppers are used.
Zulu Environment
The
Zulu people in South Africa are much like the Andean people because they have
been here for many years and have stuck to their living traditions. The Zulu
people speak IsiZulu and are in Zululand but can also speak English, Afrikaans,
and Portuguese. Zulu people believe in many gods, not just one. This sort of
worshipping can be compared to how the Greeks or Scandinavia have their gods
and goddesses. This sort of religion is an interesting way of living and having
a relation to not just one but multiple gods. It is probably easy to pray for
what you want because they have God and goddesses for rivers, agriculture, rain,
and even a god to grant the powers of immortality.
Zulu culture adaptation
Zulu
people also prioritize having raised beds in fear that an Ancient demon spirit
has the power to kill you in your sleep if you are off your raised bed. This
demon spirit is universally understood and feared. Returning to how the Zulu
people live and how their climate changed them over time. The Zulu people have
wild summers and winters. During the nighttime in winter, it can get 11 calculus.
Because of this, the Zulu people must adapt to their environment.
Physical adaptation.
Melanin occurs during the Zulu people's evolution phase. Melanin is one physical adaptation the ZULU people experience. Melanin is produced in dark brown skin to black colored skin. Melanin is extremely useful in allowing more ultraviolet radiation to be blocked. Melanin is needed for the Zulu people to maintain homeostasis. Zulu people are very persistent, too, with their clothing. It may look like they just strung something together for the sake of being dressed. However, this clothing is shaped and worn to keep them cool with the yearly sun and breathable to hunt and gather.
Race Andeans can relate to Inuits: both need to adapt and survive
in their colder climates, affecting their food, shelter, and internal survival
(staying warm or having their body change to evolve to their environments.)
Zulu can be compared to Native Americans Zulu and Native Americans are similar in that they constantly fight other tribes or communities for power or revenge if they have murdered a member. They are traditional and have kept to their ways like many years ago.
Summary: If I had to use one race that describes both the Andeans Indians and Zulu people, Native Americans fit both races' psychical and cultural adaptative. Native Americans can hunt and gather effectively, can be fierce warriors if need be, and have a strong community they have built.
Works Cited
.“." Encyclopedia of Religion. . Encyclopedia.Com. 25 May. 2023 .” Encyclopedia.Com, 14 June 2023, www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/south-american-indians-indians-modern-andes.
AncientPages.com. “Tokoloshe: Demonic Creature That Feeds on Spiritual Energy of Its Victims.” Ancient Pages, 21 June 2022, www.ancientpages.com/2020/09/09/tokoloshe-demonic-creature-that-feeds-on-spiritual-energy-of-its-victims/.
How the People of the Andes Evolved to Live in High Altitudes, www.science.org/content/article/how-people-andes-evolved-live-high-altitudes.
Human Biological Adaptability: Overview, www.palomar.edu/anthro/adapt/adapt_1.htm. Accessed 10 June 2023.
“Introduction to Andean Cultures (Article).” Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-americas/south-america-early/a-beginn/a/introduction-to-andean-cultures-edit.
Murra, John V. “Andean Peoples.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/topic/Andean-peoples.
Nag, Oishimaya Sen. “Who Are the Zulu People, and Where Do They Live?” WorldAtlas, 25 Apr. 2017, www.worldatlas.com/articles/who-are-the-zulu-people-and-where-do-they-live.html.
YouTube, YouTube, 21 June 2022, www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgSmyucj7qE.
“Zulu Community.” South African History Online, www.sahistory.org.za/article/zulu-community.
“Zulu.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2 May 2023, www.britannica.com/topic/Zulu.
Make sure you read the guidelines carefully and ask questions if something is unclear. You wander off the topic in a few prompts and it caused you some problems. It also helps to keep the post structures similarly to how the guidelines are organized.
ReplyDeleteYes, high altitude is key environmental stress faced by the Andean population, but the first section is asking for a broader description of environmental factors. Expand.
Correct, Andean populations tend to have a larger heart for pumping blood through the body. this is kind of a secondary adaption that has little to do with solving the problem of lower air pressure itself. There are a lot of adaptations that address this issue directly, such as increased hemoglobin levels and larger lung capacities.
Good discussion on the cultural adaptations! They have learned to take advantage of the environment they are given.
I agree that Andean populations are related to the Inuit but that isn't a racial category. It's tough to choose a race here, isn't it? Asian population and native American populations share a relatively recent common ancestry, as it was Asian populations that crossed over from Asia to North America some 14,000 years ago (approximately... dates are up to debate). So we definitely see some traditionally "Asian" traits in native American indigenous populations. But they are not longer "Asians". They've been here too long and have evolved their own distinctive features. Perhaps the most logical race would be native American Indian.
Zulu:
You get stuck in the "environmental" section discussing cultural traits, not the environment. Make sure you stay on topic in these posts.
Good discussion on the physical adaptation, but you needed to discuss the stress of solar radiation in the environmental section.
How does raising their beds to protect them from demons explain a cultural adaptation to an environmental stress, such as heat or solar radiation or cold or even a dietary stress? This is a cultural trait but not an environmental adaptation. How about their housing styles? Or clothing?
"Native Americans Zulu"
This isn't an actual population. There are no native Zulu in the Americas. "Race" is a category determined by external phenotypic traits, such as skin color, hair texture, eye shape, body shape, etc. A more accurate choice would be "black" or "negroid".
Missing the intent of the final prompt. Which approach has more explanatory power for helping us to understand human variation, the adaptive approach or race?
Hi Andrew!
ReplyDeleteI also chose to describe the increased melanin in the Zulu population as an example of a physical adaption. I liked how you stated "melanin is extremely useful in allowing more ultraviolet radiation to be blocked" which is a true and very applicable statement. It is interesting to think of how someone's "race" may be a direct response to the environment in which they inhabit.