-The population is located in the coastal province of KwaZula-Natal in South Africa. This area is also known as Zululand and it has a sub-tropic, warm climate that is usually consistent throughout the year. When summer time comes around, the temperature ranges from 24 to 30 degrees Celsius. During the winter time, the temperature usually stays around 20 degrees celsius. The weather in the winter is most suitable for the living conditions of the Zulu population. The rest of the days consist of hot weather with humidity. It doesn't rain very much during the winter season.
-The Zulu population were exposed to ultraviolet radiation since they are located in South Africa. The people who are from these areas typically have more melanin than others which means that they won't be affected as much. They are able to prevent themselves from getting sunburnt or receiving skin cancer. They are able to block off the ultraviolet radiation but still able to get a good amount of Vitamin D so that they are able to survive.
-They didn't only adapt physically, but also culturally. The Zulu population were starting to get attacked by Ndwandwe regiments during the late 1700s. These regiments forced them to move from their area so it forced them to devise a military strategy. King Shaka introduced weapons and new war tactics so that his people were able to protect themselves for survival. He made spears and shields for combat that were proven to be successful. They were known as the largest nation in South Africa.
-The race that I would categorize them in would be Coloured. The reason for this because their psychological traits fit this description pretty well. The Zulu population was a nation located in South Africa that were subject to state-sanctioned discrimination.
Andean
-The Andean population is located in the Andes mountain range that extends from Central America to the northern coast of South America. The seasons in this tropic area are determined by the precipitation and not the temperature. The temperatures vary because of the altitude and distance a specific location is from the sea. The weather is rainy and warm in the Northern Andes which averages out to 18 degrees Celsius.
-The physical adaptation that the Andean population demonstrated was that they wee able to adapt to the reduction in oxygen due to the seal level altitudes. This is known as oxygen starvation. There is an increase in breathing and heart rate which is very difficult to adapt to. The people had to learn how to adapt to this in order to survive.
-The cultural adaptation that they demonstrated was Malnutrition. They didn't have access to many locations which made it difficult to farm. Many people didn't know about the certain places that had soil and the perfect climate to farm. They were able to maintain a diet by exchanging certain resources with others that were outside of their community.
-The race that I would categorize the Andean population under would be the Malay race. The reason for this is because many people associate this race with "brown" people. This race not only suits their physical appearance but also have similar traditions with the other cultures in this race.
Adaptation Vs. Race
-Both of the populations have been successful in adapting physically and culturally which means that they shouldn't be known as just a certain race. They should be classified by how they have changed and the environment that they live in. They shouldn't just be labeled for their skin color but for their adaptations. It shows what kind of people they are and how they overcome many of the challenges that they faced.
Zulu sources:
-http://www.photius.com/countries/south_africa/society/south_africa_society_zulu.html
Andean Sources:
-ww.blueplanetbiomes.org/andes_climate_page.htm
Opening note on images... The guidelines specified that there should be at least two images for each population, one of the physical trait and one for the cultural. I only see one for each population.
ReplyDeleteZulu: In your discussion on physical adaptations, you correctly describe the higher levels of melanin in the skin to deal with the stress of high levels of UV radiation. Shouldn't that stress have been included in your discussion of the environment?
Good discussion on the physical adaptations, particularly identifying not just how skin tone is an adaptation to solar radiation but also to the balancing stress of Vitamin D absorption.
How do weapons and warfare techniques help to deal with the environmental stresses you discussed in the first paragraph? That was the focus here. Don't go off on tangents! You could have discussed their clothing, house construction, food choices/options and even cultural behaviors that help deal with the heat/aridity/radiation levels.
Doesn't "coloured" apply to all populations? We all have "color", correct? Just different levels of color. Let's be a little more specific. The most logical choices here are "black" or "negroid".
Andean: Similar problem here with your environmental description. In your section on physical adaptations, you correctly explain that Andeans need to adapt to hypoxia in their environment. Shouldn't this have been included in your discussion of the environmental stresses?
Yes, increased breathing and heart rates are adaptations to hypoxia stress, but these are adaptations all humans can develop, as they are short term physiological adaptations. Are there any long-term, genetic adaptations Andeans exhibit that they have evolved over a multi-generational exposure to an hypoxic environment? How about a higher level of hemoglobin in their blood cells to help transport more oxygen to the body?
With regard to your cultural adaptation, remember that the guidelines clearly specified that "adaptations" must help the body in some way. Does "malnutrition" meet that standard? You could have discussed clothing choices, home construction, food choices and even cultural behaviors here that helped deal with any of their environmental stresses, but the key word here is "helped". Andeans wouldn't still be living in this environment if they were subject to regular malnutrition. They would have left long ago.
I see where you are going with your choice of "race", but Malay is an ethnic group, defined not just by physical traits but also by culture. Don't confuse the two. The most logical choice for Andeans is "indian" or "mongoloid".
In general, I agree with your conclusions in the final summary, but let's clarify a little more clearly why race doesn't work well. 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.
Lilly,
ReplyDeleteYour long post touched on many of the adaptations of the Zulu and Andean Indians.
In the Zulu section, I did not even think to add the information about the Vitamin D. I thought this was a really interesting fact, and made me realize that dark skin does more than just protect against UV rays.
In the Andean Indian section, I think that 'race' refers to groups of people who have differences and similarities in biological traits deemed by society to be socially significant. So an example would just be based on the color of someone's skin. So I would have gone with your second sentence in that paragraph of being, 'brown.' Overall, I thought your post covered a lot of subject material though!