(Zulu - 2) The Zulu physically have dark skin pigmentation, tall, slender and tone. When reading about how physically we evolve to our environment it makes sense that the Zulu people physically look the way they do. The dark, close to black pigment is their skin adapting to the harsh UV rays they are exposed to through out the year. They are so close to the equator and have sunny days most days of the year. For the warm weather, tall thin bodies handle the warmth better than bodies with a larger surface area. through all the picture I looked at I did not find one Zulu that was not slender and tone.
(Zulu - 3) Just like most tribes, the Zulu were discovered by the outside world. This caused them to have to come face to face with converting Christians. The Zulu people believed in praying to their ancestors for help, guidance, and even herbal remedies for cures to illnesses. They also believed in magic and offering and sacrifice. Once the outside world came into their life they needed to adapt to the new Christian colonist to protect their tribe. They did alter their culture to accommodate for the Christian beliefs by no longer praying to their ancestors or any other practices that the Christians deemed sinful.
(Zulu - 4) The Zulu people would be African American if I was to classify them in a race. The most most distinct reason to classify them as such is geography, they live in Africa. The Next would be the color of their skin, they have the closest color to black. They have the same facial structure and hair color, type, texture. Looking at their physic, and after reading about our body's surviving better in different environments because of our ancestors evolving to their environment over the years, it is easy to tell that their body type would be best close to the equator, where their is a lot of sun and heat. When reading the article "Does Race Exist" I would love to examine the bones of the Zulu and other races to see if there really is more of a distinction than what the eyes can see on the outside.
(Zulu - 5) To be honest, questions 1-3 I was comfortable discussing the Zulu people as people. Where they lived and how they lived, but as soon as I had to classify them into a category, especially on physical attributes, I felt extremely uncomfortable. I don't think that my answer to number 4 is all that great. I feel like looking at a group of people and grouping them based on things such as religion, culture, environment, and geography seem more scientific for some reason. I feel like if I group people based on looks it is a stereotype that could have a bias outlook on the individual. It seems more emotional, personal and judgmental.
(Andean Indians - 1) The Andean Indians live in the Andes Mountains in Central America. This environment is different from the Zulu people's environment. The Andean people are going to be at a higher altitude living on a mountain. The mountain is also covered in a dense forest. If there is a dense forest that means plenty of rain fall. Generally the temperature stays the same through out the year (mid to late 60s) it is mostly the precipitation that distinguishes the seasons. Honestly, this environment seems more desirable, but that doesn't mean that it is still not stressful on the human body. Being in a higher altitude will mean that the air is harder for humans to breath. This will stress out the lungs and the heart.
(Andean Indians - 2) When looking at the following pictures I found online I noticed that these people's facial features are almost the same as if they could be related. I am not exactly sure how those distinct facial features would be beneficial to the people that live in that area, but it apparently does to with stand evolution. They have tan skin which makes sense for where they are located. they are a little further north of the equator which tells us that they will be receiving less UV rays than people that live on the equator, but not as less as those that live furthest from the equator that do not even get UVB rays. The Andean people have thick skin, shorter, stouter bodies because their environment is cooler and there is more rain. Over the years their bodies must have evolved to retain more fat. The more fat the more insulation to keep body heat in.
(Andean Indians - 3) Due to their luscious environment these people did a lot of farming and gathering. This was the cultural role of the man to do the farming and the gathering while the women stayed home and worked on the home, family, and the weaving. The women would weave beautiful, vibrant clothes, baskets, and cloth. Though their environment is cooler and over the years their bodies have adjusted to the weather their culture has made clothes to cover them and blankets to warm themselves. Their beautiful art work has also become a means to trade amongst the outside world.
(Andean Indians - 4) The race of these people are much harder for me. If there was a race I would categorize them as, it would be Native Americans. I base this on their high cheek bones, mouth shape, tan thick skin, dark, course, thick black hair. There are very common features to the neighboring Mexicans, but I know that there have been Native Americans that came from Mexico area and settled in America, so there are Mexican Native American looking people which might be a better race to categorize them as. Looking close to their culture and arts they are very similar to Native Americans with praying to their ancestors and using dance to tell stories and communicate. Their arts like the color of the clothes and cloth look more similar to the Mexican culture.
(Andean Indians - 5) My race analyst seems weak compared to the deep physical research that anthropologists can do. Seeing the actual bone structure of these individuals and comparing them to the Native Americans and the Mexicans I bet it would be much easier to see the differences or similarities. Evolution takes a long time so i am sure the bone structure, if they were from the same 'family' wouldn't be to easy to distinguish. Not only seeing the bones, but the DNA. After reading about race I think that race is not skin deep. There has to be something more to race than just what someone can see physically. Again, that seems bias and judgmental. If that is the point of race then i guess it is a good think that we have rules to keep people politically correct.
Work Cited:
Zulu - Introduction, Location, Language, Folklore, Religion, Major Holidays, Rights of passage, Relationships, Living Conditions. Advameg, Inc. 17 April 2012
<http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Rwanda-to-Syria/Zulu.html>
KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa - SouthAfrica.com. South Africa by Big Media Publishers. 17 April 2012
<http://www.southafrica.info/about/geography/kwazulu-natal.htm>
Weather of Kwazulu Natal | By South Africa Channel. New Media Holdings, Inc. 17 April 2012
<http://www.southafrica.com/kwazulu-natal/climate/>
Zulu Facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com Articles about Zulu. The Encyclopedia.com. 17 April 2012
<http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Zulu.aspx>
Central American and northern Andean Indian (people) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Encyclopedia Britannica Facts Matter. 18 April 2012
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/102247/Central-American-and-northern-Andean-Indian>
Christian C. "Andes Mountain Climate Highland Climate (H)"Andes Climate. 2002. Bryann Schaffner 2010. 18 April 2012
<http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/andes_climate.htm>
Very informative. I think you may have enough information here to do the assignment three times over. I like your remark about the DNA. Since they have already mapped human genes (Human Genome Project) they'll be able to see where people originated from and how they have changed genetically to adapt to their environments.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the way you incorporated researched material into your blog post was spectacular. My main critique with your posting has to do with your choice of race for the Zulu people. I feel that you let your own cultural bias, which is to be overly politically correct, influence how you categorized these people. By calling them African-American, I feel you were trying harder to be politically correct and non-offensive by American standards rather than be accurate. Firstly, these people have nothing to do with the United States or the Americas, so where does the "American" portion come into play? It's okay to just call them African, or if you want to be a little more specific, you could even call them Negroid. However, the threat of being offensive or even labeled as being a racist for using a term is part of our culture. Science is supposed to transcend culture and politics. Next time, I'd advise trying harder to be accurate rather than not be offensive by our own culture's standards.
ReplyDeleteI have to say, you really excelled with the discussion on the physical adaptations. Very well done. Clearly explained and very accurate. Excellent.
ReplyDeleteI also liked reading about your discomfort over the issue of determining race. You were supposed to be uncomfortable. It wasn't supposed to be easy to do, where as the adaptations are supposed to make sense, hopefully to lead you to the conclusion that you reached in the end.
The only critique I have is that you cultural adaptation for the Zulu is actually an social adaptation, not one to their natural, physical environment. Can you think of a cultural practice they have that helps them live in their particular environment?
Otherwise, wonderful post.
Salvador,
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely correct about the issue of of calling the Zulu "African Americans", when they have never lived in America. But for that matter, is it accurate to call them "African" in terms of race? Race is usually defined by similar outward physical characteristics. Is there such a thing as one particular "African" race that applies to all Africans?