The Amish: Plain and Simple

Environment 

The culture that I chose for this project is the Amish. The Amish have a rich and historic culture and are primarily located in the North American states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. Most notably, however, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The climate that the Amish live in is very humid with hot or very warm summers. The average snowfall during the winter is 5.5 cm with 4.56 precipitation during the fall. All seasons take place within this environment. The Amish live in a rural setting that is away from urban influence. There is no level of high competition among other cultures around them because they purposely try and isolate themselves from the “outside world” as they put it. There has recently been an increase in the culture’s population with 221,000 residents in 2008. 

Agriculture has always been a major part of the Amish lifestyle. Horses are an iconic identity of the Amish that help them plow, cultivate, and harvest crops. They use farm animals, such as cows, pigs, goats, and chickens in order to obtain foods and other nutrients from these animals. There is not much environmental stress except for the winters where the Amish must obtain from using electricity, therefore making it harder for them to keep warm. They have fire places and heavy coats to keep them warm during the winter. 

Adaptations

Since a large group of Amish descend from about 200 eighteenth century funders, there have been many genetic disorders due to inbreeding that may exist in the more isolated areas. These disorders include dwarfism, Angelman Syndrome, and other metabolic disorders. However, many Amish live a very clean lifestyle with very little tobacco and alcohol use. They also wear long sleeves and wide-brimmed hats that protect them from the sun. Because of their dressing styles, there are very low rates of skin cancer. This adaptation helps keep the Amish from acquiring such diseases and viruses. 

Cultural adaptations that help the Amish adapt to their environment include their garments to keep them from the sun, their farming lifestyle in order to help them acquire food and sustain themselves nutritionally, and their way of transportation in order to take them from place to place. They use horses and buggies in order to travel from neighboring cities. They may also take the train for public transportation and may be a passenger in a modern car. For kids, there is a large taboo on bicycles so they must use non-motorized scooters. The Amish are unique in the way that they choose to not take part in modern technology, therefore, they adapt to their environments with a more rural take on almost everything they do. 

Language

The Amish speak a special kind of combination language called Pennsylvania Deutsch that has a dialect in German. This language has gradually come to be known as Pennsylvania German or Pennsylvania Dutch. This language binds the Amish together that would naturally limit the interaction with many non-Amish or “English” people as they would put it. The Amish learn English in school but also learn High German for worship services. They use these languages interchangeably except for when they hold worship services, in which Standard German or Hochdeitsch is used. 

Gender Roles

The gender roles of the Amish are very traditional. Chores are clearly divided by gender role within the culture. Men usually do the work on the farm with the women helping from time to time. Men are also in charge of the financial matters whereas women are in charge of the cooking, washing, cleaning, Kids are supposed to take on identifying with their parent of gender. Boys will go with the men to work and girls will stay indoors with the women to help. The mindset is that these roles were given to them by God and women are not inferior, but they are subordinate. 

These roles are are instilled within both genders at the time of childhood into adulthood, therefore, there are not many who would break these roles. There are some exceptions to these rules but mostly, everyone must abide by them. Children are disciplined in a strict manner where the child will receive corporal punishment if he is disobedient. The biology and gender of the child seem to be very traditional to what roles have been for men and women throughout history. There is no new take or new unique perceptions to these given gender roles. It is all very traditional. 

The Amish are very private when it comes to talking about sex and sexual relations. They simply look the other way if a person were to act out in any certain way. For example, if the protagonist in the story “The Blessed Curse” were to join this culture, the Amish would not talk about her gender and try to keep it as closed as possible until perhaps after their death. 

Subsistence 

The traditional subsistence pattern of the Amish culture is agriculture. Almost all Amish families farm and take care of animals in order to sustain themselves. They plant, cultivate, and harvest their food throughout the year. They main foods that make up the culture’s diet reflect influences of the Amish’s German Heritage and a rejection of rapid change. One of the most popular dishes are broths that usually include ingredients like egg noodles, fish, poultry, mashed potatoes, flour, rice, dumplings, and fried bread. They have German dishes like Borscht as well, but mainly cook with basic carb related ingredients. Because it is easy to store these types of foods, many of the dishes are year round. The world is divided up where women and girls do the cooking, period. Boys and men do the farm work that would acquire the ingredients, but women know how to make the dishes and have knowledge in storing the supplies. Their diet is very easy to obtain. There are no rare ingredients that the Amish need in order to sustain themselves throughout the year. 

Economic Systems

The Amish does hardly produces any surplus in food other than to sustain themselves because they believe that the paycheck they receive is the food from their labor. This is why they do not see it well to sell it to others in order to sustain themselves. The specialization of labor that this culture has is agriculture. They are very knowledgable in farming techniques and use very little machinery in order to help them. This culture uses dollars are their currency but hardly acquire any wealth because it is seen as not humble and part of the Christian traditionalist faith. However, during the 1940’s there was a shift in what the Amish were using to plow their farms. There was a steadily decline in the horses they used to farm. Instead of horses, they used tractors and because of this they made a business in buying parts for tractors. There was a boom in the 1970’s and 1980’s that the Amish had due to four types of industries they obtained. These four industries are: cottage industries, large shops like farm machinery and lawn furniture, mobile carpentry and construction crews, and retail stores where they could sell hardware, appliances, clothing, furniture, quilts, and crafts. 

Marriage

Marriage within the Amish culture is very traditional. Many weddings take place after the autumn harvest and are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The type of marriage that occurs monogamous because of their Christian upbringing. The Amish use a term called Rumspringa which means “running around.” During this period, many adolescents begin a time of serious courtship. The time for courtship is usually around the age of sixteen although some girls may start at the age of fourteen. After this, they usually are baptized into the church and marry shortly after. After marriage, the newly wed couple goes to friends and relatives houses in order to receive many gifts. This can take a number of weeks after the wedding ceremony. There is really no value on the any of the gender since its a communal wedding and the ceremony is very simple and plain. 

Some exogamy rules about marriage is that Amish who marry outside of the religion are not to be wedded within the church. In other words, an Amish boy must marry a member within the Amish culture in order to receive a baptism and a ceremony within the church. In terms of residence patterns, many newly weds move into a house within a span of six months. The attitude toward homosexual relationships within the Amish world is that it is forbidden. Many who may be homosexual would most likely hide it from their community for the rest of their lives. 

Kinship

Most of the Amish were descended from about 200 18th century founders. They marry within their culture only which is why so many have genetic disabilities. The culture is very male dominated where the man makes the financial decisions, and works in the farms. Women are seen as subordinate. Goods and property are passed along through the men’s side. The Eskimo kinship system does match the Amish kinship system because they address their people such as brother, mother, father, and sister for each individual. 

Social Organization 

The Amish culture is stratified in a way where the man is seen as the dominant gender. Gender plays a major role in that it defines your place within the culture. There is no mobility within status levels unless a man were to randomly be chosen from a lot to be a minister or deacon. 

Political Structure

There is no major political power except for ministers, bishops and deacons. Each district has usually two or three ministers, one deacon and one bishop, who is shared between two districts. These people are chosen by lots of men from each district. A minister is not viewed as an honor, but rather as a serious responsibility. A person must be baptized in order to be chosen as a minister. Usually these choosing happen when a minister dies or a district is too large and must divide. It is an emotional process for each man so there is usually a two week notice that they will be choosing from a lot. Law is unspoken and determined by a term called Ordnung. If anyone breaks these laws they can be excommunicated or shunned. For smaller children, corporal punishment takes place. 

The Roles of Violence 

Two ways that violence occurs is corporal punishment for children and minors and excommunication where they expel a member from their culture. These acts of violence are viewed as negatively because many of the Amish try to use these punishments as a last resort.  

Religion

The Amish practice traditionalist Christian. Many subgroups have their own version of this faith but many follow a book called the Ausband which was published in German in 1564 after the reformation period. This is related to Christianity, which is monotheistic. They worship God and sing together in hymns. There is no origin story of how they came to be but the Ausband has a large number of traditional Hymns that connect them to the past. One of the most interesting practices that the Amish do is hold worship services in members homes rather than in churches. Services are conducted every other Sunday with members taking turns to host the worship service. There is usually a meal after the service which includes mainly side dishes and desserts after which social interactions take place. Religion is extremely important to the Amish that it would not survive as a culture without it. This religion is the back bone to the communities that bind them all together. The services preach a simple way of life and good-doing, which is everything the Amish aspire to be. 

Art

The Amish create quilts and crafts in order to sustain their way of living. They also make furniture that is made of 100% wood. Furniture making in the Amish community is often a skill because it is passed through many generations. Many of the shops that Amish work in are run by hydraulic and pneumatic power that is run on diesel generators. No piece is identical to the other. In terms of music, the amish sing primarily in German. They sing in ancient styles that is not found anywhere in Europe. Singing is a major part of the Amish churches with some songs taking 15 minutes or longer to sing. The Amish do not really take part in dancing but rather singing in faster hymns. 

Conclusion 

The Amish have been living in their culture for many years and it has changed very little. On the one hand, the Amish have not been lenient when it comes to comprising their culture for modern lifestyles. At the same time, they face a threat from modern society when it comes to having their children not get persuaded to live outside of the community. I believe that with the current numbers from a census taken in 2010, the Amish are thriving and are not in danger of losing their culture. Their identity is to live a simple and plain life and they have done so many years without compromising with the outside world. I feel that the roles that the Amish plays in modern society is nonexistent. Many people view the Amish as a backwards and traditional type of people. Therefore, there is a very weak influence that the Amish has over the modern world. 

Bibliography

https://books.google.com/books?id=HUljBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA77&lpg=PA77&dq=the+amish+and+intersex&source=bl&ots=xCJizeTlEe&sig=KvwP3ulAjv4S4niVtfgvdeKGvFo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiNgKifrojNAhVT1WMKHf7SAf4Q6AEIIjAB#v=onepage&q=the%20amish%20and%20intersex&f=false

http://www.discoverlancaster.com/towns-and-heritage/amish-country/amish-education-and-work.asp

http://www.amishnews.com/amisharticles/traditionalfamily.htm

Art as a Culture

Functions of Early Art

I believe that these artists were trying to depict of what life was like in their time. The art that is displayed in the Lascaux Cave shows the audience of what they saw when they saw animals through their eyes within that time era. The animals most often show movement and expression, as if the artists were trying to show how they functioned and behaved. 

I think they showed animals because at the time there were probably more animals than humans. I feel as though there must have been some type of spiritual connection with animals. The artists must have viewed them as very majestic creatures and were very fascinated by their movement, their features, and their life. I also think that drawing animals would have been simply easier than to draw a human at those times. Maybe they did not even consider it art, therefore, they just painted what they saw. 

These paintings tell us about the life of the animals thought the early cave dweller’s eyes. They show they shape and movement of many different animals.Also, the paintings show early human culture and what the early humans looked like. The paintings show what type of medium was readily available in the early cave dwellers life. The paintings also show some ancient figures such as ancient star charts. I believe this is because maybe the cave dwellers were fascinated by the sky as well which shows how much more intelligent these people came to be. 

The artists had to paint inside steep and dangerous caves. It would be a very difficult challenge just to get into the caves and around them without being injured. I think painting on surfaces of rock that is very uneven would be difficult to control the painting process and how one would want to paint.

These artists would also have to be weary of other animals like snakes. 

I think the paintings provided many important functions to these early humans. I think they knew that it would serve as a way of recording their own history within that time. I believe that these painters also would pass the time trying to paint these depictions which maybe some needed to do. I also think that this art served as a form of communication between people of that era by maybe telling a story and relating to one another. 

Similarities in Function

There are many similarities within the functions in the art of the early humans compared to that of modern art. In the first similarity, the art provides a sort of leisure to the culture. Art can be a form of hobby for some and a way to express oneself. Art can be viewed as a medium to illustrate stories in order to communicate storytelling and thought. Art can also preserve history and generations of what was in the passed and for years to come. Art can be viewed by many in the future and it shows a picture of what the person in that time was like and what influenced them to create it. 

My Favorite Art: Music

I believe that many who write or play or make music are trying to express themselves artistically. There are many other functions for music, such as telling one’s story, pleasing one’s listening, or even trying to evoke an emotion that cannot be expressed through words. Also, one can record music in history and it can show what was happening during that era. Music changes so often over the years that it is really an amazing way to express oneself and connect with one’s current culture. 

I think that music definitely has its own culture. People who are into music tend to act a certain way that is very creative. They are open to sounds and senses, as well as language. Throughout the years, many have dressed a certain way in order to show that they were part of that culture, like rock, rap, jazz, electronic, and even ritualistic music. However, music is so diverse that you do not need to fit into a culture in order to like music or all types of music. That is what makes it so universal and relatable. 

Music benefits society by mirroring what the culture is like in that time. It creates a sense of unity that can put everyone in a good mood. It can connect people from around the country who have never met nor speak the same language. In detrimental ways, however, music can also enrage a certain culture group. It can be used as a way of anarchy and propaganda that can cause hate. 

Yanomamo Culture

     All cultures have different rules or laws regarding the killing of other people and the punishment they shall receive. In Western cultures, many of the laws are usually written and carried out so that we may be able to protect people from hurting other people. Obviously each law has a consequence if it is broken. Some are more greater in the degree of punishment than others. As opposed to the Yanomamo, who have no written language and therefore have no formal laws. They violate general rules in order to gain for themselves. Since there are no formal laws, many of these unwritten rules are broken on a regular daily basis. This is why much of the violence occurs. 

     The most common act of killing in the Yanomamo culture is for act of revenge on a previous killing. Women are the main reason for why they act on this revenge. Because of this, many of the people who are out for revenge have to also be very weary and cautious that others might get revenge on them. In this culture, the people in a village who act quickly on gaining revenge are less likely to get attacked, and therefore have less mortalities. Men also see gaining revenge as a form of social benefit. They believe that these men have better reproductive success and a higher marital status. These two reasons are why the Yanomamo take this so seriously. 

     Unokais, meaning those who have killed, must follow a ritual purification called Unokaimou. One purpose of this ritual is to avert any supernatural harm on oneself from the soul of the victim. The benefit of being an Unokais means you are fierce and respected as one who enacts revenge. Another advantage is that the Unokais have more reproductive success. The benefit of being a non-unokais would be the benefit of a less risky life of killing and revenge. They live a life with fewer mortal risks than the Unokais.

     Revenge killing is an integral part of the Yanomamo culture. It has relationships with all aspects of life, including political structure, social status, kinship, and marriage and reproduction. Each village has certain descent groups that has one or more political leader. These leaders have a large amount of wives and many children. The political system is organized by kinship, so revenge killing is a big influence on social status. Those who participate are seen in a much higher perspective. A person is related to another if at least one genealogical connection between them exists. Most of the kin, however, are related in many different ways. For example, 80% of the members are related to more than 75% of the village. Killing among the Yanomamo culture is very important for the loss of individuals. Nearly 70% of all individuals (males and females) age 40 or older have lost at least one close genetic kin due to violence, and most (57%) have lost two or more. Revenge killing definitely has a large impact on the families and kin of the Yanomamo. The Unokais have greater success rate on marriage and reproduction because of their revenge killings. 

     I think we must have laws against “anti-social” behavior, like killing other people because even though most people do not want to perform such violent acts on others, a very few who do probably go with the notion that violence can be a very huge force and can be the driving force of human evolution. As people on Earth, we have been implanted with the traits to succeed in out survival and reproduction. People with anti-social behavior also can also not be aware of the crimes they are committing without realizing the importance of taking a human life. We must have laws in so people can be less likely to commit horrible crimes.

Kinship

     For this analysis I chose my father. This was a great choice for my interview because my father is very private and hardly chooses to disclose any information on his upbringing and thoughts about the family. He is very warm at heart, but he very reserved. My father was born in Tequila, Mexico in 1946. He was the second oldest of fourteen siblings. My father's life was very rural, doing chores that any farmer would do, like milking cows, tending to the pigs, and even grinding meat. Until he was about twenty two years old, he decided to travel to Los Angeles where he met my mother and married four years later. 

     The interview went very well with no pressure on both parties. I found my father to be at ease. We had just ate dinner so we were very relaxed. The television was kept at a low volume and we sat next to a shaded lamp, making the mood very relaxed. This interview was conducted in our home so it made things much more familiar and comfortable. There were moments of pause between questions that I had asked my father, but they were pauses of ponder, not awkwardness. He has a very serious tone and low voice, but he exudes a comfort with his words. This made me feel right at home, so there was no discomfort that affected me. If this was done in a different setting, however, it would have been more uncomfortable. Interviewing someone unrelated to me would be a bit of a challenge because of the personal questions I would ask. I would have to think of the setting, the words I choose, the tone of my voice, the lighting, the time of day, and other factors in order to make my subject feel much more at ease. Also, it would be more uncomfortable for me as an interviewer. I would have to mentally prepare myself which would give me a bit of anxiety throughout the entire process. 

     When analyzing my family’s kinship chart, I found some patterns dealing with family size, closeness, and socialization levels. The size of my family is very large and continues throughout the entire chart. Most sections of my family have at least three to five kids. This is higher than the average amount of kids. My father had so many siblings that their culture passed from generation to generation. My father is close to his children more than his nephews and nieces, but this was expected. Looking a the chart, I realized that most of the family members who were close with each other were in the same working class system with almost the same culture values. Although my immediate family is the same ethnicity, we do have many different types of cultures coming in from different places. There can be a clash of cultures at some points, but it is very light and meant for entertainment. There is a larger emphasis on paternal lines through my dad’s side. The attitude towards younger adults in the family is that they have to be great and work hard in order to strive. For the older adults, life is taken much more easier. My kinship chart did not follow a patrilocal residence because most of our families tended to live independently and away from their father’s home. 

     I know both sides of relatives from my mother and father's side well, but I know my father's uncles and aunts much more than I know my mother's sisters and brothers because of their distance away from Los Angeles. I do not socialize with anyone as much as I should because of who I am as a quiet and reserved person. It must be my father's gift to me. I do, however, know my father's side of the family more because they are very lively and hold annual parties which I attend if I have the time and energy. My sister holds the most decision making influence in my family. The reason I believe so is because of her righteousness, dedication, and ambition. She views our family as a sort of traditional family with morals, standards, and ethics. Because of this, her stern way of telling the family what ought to be done goes unquestioned and unchallenged. All family members who marry into the family basically become part of the family. Some of the members who marry are from different parts of the country, like Michigan, where their family is far away. We have always adopted them as our own and basically treat them like siblings. Some of the members who do marry into the family have different attitudes towards different genders, but not in a demeaning way. For example, my sister's husband is from Pakistan, and he treats men a little more serious then women because of his culture. Everyone, however, understands and tries to open up his perspective. Through this exercise, I learned that my family is very open. Although they hold on to tradition, they are able to open up enough to accept all different types of cultures and attitudes. I believe we enjoy life much more when our minds are open.  

Subsistence and Economy

Part 1

The benefits of a hunter-gatherer system were having less diseases because of constant migration and obtaining a healthier lifestyle because of the diverse range of foods and constant travel. Hunter-gatherers traveled from place to place which produced more exercise and regulation of energy. This idea also makes it less likely to get sick from viruses, infections and diseases. Also, the hunter-gatherer had a wide range of food because of the traveling they did to new environments. This means that they were more likely to eat all sorts of food with good nutrition and made their body more apt to digesting different types of food. Last, their lifestyle had the ability to prolong health by constantly walking and moving, burning more energy and keeping them healthy. The benefits of an agricultural system was that it included a steady source of food and was able to sustain large populations. This society gave people a steady source of food and supply that was used throughout most of the year. Of course, there were minor setbacks like drought and insect infestations. This meant that people were able to concentrate on other skills to prosper in their environments. Finally, the agrarian society settled in large populations because of a steady food source. These people could now stay in a settlement without having to worry searching for food.

The disadvantages of the hunter-gatherer system included having to find food daily in order to sustain their style of living. This meant that there was no permanent source of food, unlike the agrarian culture. Many would likely be able to die from hunger if they did not find food quickly. Another disadvantage included not being able to sustain a large number of people in these societies. they had to travel in small groups in order to be able to eat the food where they traveled. If too many people would join, there might have not been enough food to feed them all. The disadvantages that the agricultural system had was that, although abundant, their food supply was not entirely permanent. This means that they were susceptible to droughts, infestation of insects, and other environmental disasters. Also, because the agricultural system could sustain a large population, it was susceptible to diseases among the people. This could have created a much larger problem for them to deal with than having to worry about their food supply. 

In my opinion, I thought that the hunter-gatherer system provided a much more healthier lifestyle than the agricultural system. Migrating to places created a workout routine for these people and the different varieties of food meant that their body would adapt to change in diet. Because of the notion of having to find food everyday and having to share it meant that these people would eat less portions but more throughout the day, which is very healthy. 

I think that people from long ago chose the agricultural system because of the idea that they could settle and establish larger population. This meant that people could start large families and would not have to worry about feeding them everyday. Having to travel everyday with family could be very strenuous and worrisome especially for children. Being able to have a steady source of food basically meant security of survival. Families would also be able to build relationships with many more other families in these establishments, creating a bond and a sense of community. 

Part 2

  There is a direct relationship between the availability of surplus and the ability to trade because one must have the necessary amount of goods to survive, as well as to trade to other people. It is impossible to trade something that you do not have. Surplus also equates to trade. 

Two social benefits to trade include the increase in social relationships and the increase of being able to be skilled in a particular trade. When two parties trade, they are creating a social relationship between one another because they are trading items that benefit one another. The means that there are now open lines of connection between both parties. It is beneficial to both parties since it creates an economy. In addition, trading allows for a party to be very skilled in trading a particular trade. Since one party may be trading their products to others, they can specialize their technology so they become very efficient in order to make more money. 

Two negative social results of the development of trade include greed and monopolization, and creating debt within two parties in trade. Monopolizing a certain trade could cause harm because that party would have full control of that specific trade which means that they can drive up the cost, chose to trade exclusively, and not allowing other parties to specialize in that trade. Creating debt between both parties can also be a negative result. This means that a party can be very set back on paying back other parties which can, in turn, ruin their own society and specialized trade. If more debt means a low economy, then it cane very hard to come back up and sustain itself. 

Agriculture relates to trade because of the food products that can be traded between parties throughout the world. If one agrarian culture finds a way to grow crops because of the environment, then they can trade their abundant source of crops around the world in order to thrive in commerce and be able to sustain their survival. This helps a lot because many places cannot supply all that they need in order for them to survive. Therefore, trading with other parties helps everyone in return. 

The Importance of Language

PART 1

After communicating with my partner without speaking for fifteen minutes, I found the experiment to be very difficult. It was frustrating to not be able to communicate using my words and only hand gestures and body movements. I am a person who speaks softly and is often shy, therefore using my hands and body gestures to communicate was very new and foreign to me. My partner had a very difficult time trying to understand me as well. The impressions my partner gave me throughout the conversation were of frustration and lack of understanding. He had to alter the way he communicated to me by asking many more questions, using his hand gestures to try and understand mine, and changing his facial features constantly. It seemed as though he was trying to get something out of me to understand me better. If we were two cultures that were trying to communicate, I think the culture with the ability to speak would have the better advantage in being able to express complex ideas because of the easiness of establishing basic ideas. It would be much easier to use our words to convey more in depth ideas. The culture that speaks might view the culture with symbolic language as less intelligent. This may be because the culture who speaks can use many words to describe details, places, ideas, states of being, formulas, and so forth as opposed to the culture with symbolic language which can reach a limit of communication. Individuals who have a difficult time communicating spoken language can include the deaf and very young children, especially babies. Interacting with these individuals can be very difficult because they cannot understand what you say to them. Deaf humans have to rely on sign language and reading lip movements which can be very difficult to pick up. To communicate, one must also be able to learn sign language and be able to read their facial and hand gestures too, which can be very hard. Children and babies have not learned to speak fully yet so it makes it very hard for them and the adult to communicate with each other as well. 

PART 2

This experiment came to a very huge surprise to me. As an introvert, I usually thought of myself as someone who does not use hand gestures or body gestures to communicate with others. I usually thought of myself to be very easygoing in that sense. After communicating with my partner using only words and nothing else, I found it to be surprisingly uncomfortable. At first, I realized that my voice had many tones when I spoke. I also realized that my facial features are a very big part of me when I talk. I was not able to add any emphasis to my voice, therefore I sounded very monotone and boring. I had to also be very aware of my body. I realized I did many things unnoticeably and involuntarily. Lasting for an entire fifteen minutes was no easy task. It felt like time went by so much slower than usual. My partner was growing very bored of my monotonous speaking and was losing interest quickly. The fact that he used gestures and facial gestures to respond to my questions made me want to use my hands and body even more. It made me feel very agitated at one point. This experiment made me realize the extreme importance of using signs and symbolic gestures in order to communicate. Without them, our individual expressions would cease to exist. It makes things like panic, happiness, and anger seem much more emphasized, which can be needed in certain situations. It makes it easier to understand one another as well through clarity and human connection. There are definitely some people who have a hard time reading body language. These people can include the blind, young children, and even older adults who may have been out of touch with today’s body language movements. The adaptive benefit to body language is that it makes it easier for humans to pick up cues that make it easier to understand what they are trying to communicate. It also creates a bond between humans, especially long time friends and family. An environmental condition where it would not be beneficial to read body language would probably not exist. Even the most simple things I can think of like sitting and listening to a lecture, getting ready to sleep and talking to your partner would all have some sort of importance on body language to signal the other individual. 

PART 3

I think if I was able to use written language during part one of the experiment I would have had a much easier time. Spoken and written language, I believe, is much more powerful than symbolic language. Written language would convey the same type of importance and understanding as spoken language. The only problem I see would be if the person did not know how to read, or if the person reading would not get a sense of character through written words. There are so many important advantages to using written language in one’s culture. One advantage that written language can have on our culture is to document history. This allows us to record past events and gain knowledge about the past. Written language allows us to set rules and regulations, to remind us of the things we would have forgotten if our memory failed us. It is very important to use written language. Written language has allowed the flow of ideas and communication to be spread out throughout the world. Many ideas came from written books, mathematics, and religion that have all been written down and recorded. This is by far one of human civilizations greatest achievements. 

Zulu and Andean Environmental Comparison

Population A: Zulu

Environment

The people of Zulu reside in the northern and eastern regions of South Africa. KwaZulu-Natal, generally known as Zululand, produces a subtropical climate along the coast with some colder climates in the inner regions. Throughout summer, which is between the months of November and March, temperatures range from 86 degrees Fahrenheit to a cool 70 degrees Fahrenheit. It is usually sunny and hot. In the winter, temperatures can go from 70 degrees Fahrenheit to below freezing point in some winter evenings. There is much humidity throughout the year with some rainfall on the south coast of Durban. This can be hard for any human body to maintain homeostasis, which makes the people of Zululand so resistant to changes in the weather.  

Physical Adaptation

Due to the region being located in the Southern Hemisphere, there is lots and lots of sunlight that shines down. This caused the people of Zulu to obtain physical adaptations through the process of evolution. Throughout a long period of time, changes occurred in their skin in response to constant environmental stress. They produced more eumelanin, which blocks ultraviolet radiation more effectively and maintains homeostasis throughout their body. 

Cultural Adaptation

Because the people of Zulu are so bound by very hot and humid weather, they also learned to adapt by the way they dress themselves. It is especially important to dress with very minimal clothing to allow wind to pass through and to keep as cool as possible. This allows them to remain in normal body temperature; in a state of homeostasis. 

Race

The race that I believe would best describe the people of Zulu would be Black. I chose this race because it best correlates with their physical attributes and skin color. Many are very tall and dark colored to be protected from the sun. 

Population B: Andean Indians

Environment

The Andean Indians live in the Central America and the northern regional coast of South America. This area is very tropical where the changes in rainfall are more significant than the changes in temperature. Some areas have dense forests while other areas are very dry. The reason for the extreme changes is due to the elevation and altitude of the land itself. Some areas are very high in altitude and some are low. 

Physical Adaptation

Because the Andean Indians live in such a high elevated area where it is very difficult to breathe for most, their physical characteristics have changed throughout thousands of years to better suit the environment they live in. For example, some areas reach a staggering elevated level of about three miles. Therefore, they must have adapted a way in order to survive the very low oxygen levels. They produced hemoglobin in their blood so that they can increase lung expansion and help with everyday living. 

Cultural Adaptation

One cultural adaptation that the Andean Indians had to learn was how to inherit complex farming methods to adapt to their local conditions. Because of the high altitude and sloping valleys, many farmers learned how to farm through years of cultural and biological evolution. These methods have helped them manage very jarring environments without having to depend on modern agricultural technology. 

Race

The race that I believe would best describe the Andean Indians would be Asian. Many of the people there are very mixed due to intermarriage. The best attributes, however, are that they encompass a small stature and more oval eyes. 

Adaptation vs. Race

After comparing both populations with physical and cultural adaptions versus race, I would say that it is much more informative to describe populations based on physical and cultural adaptions. For one, it is very difficult to acquire information based on ones outward appearance.This method can leave someone open to many erroneous conclusions. It is very broad and general without giving any reason. Cultural and physical adaptations are much more specific, informative, precise, and delivers an explanation to a population’s outward appearance. This would be a much more scientific approach for anthropologists to use.  

Sources:

http://www.zulu.org.za/about/key-facts/natural-environment

http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/zulu

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Zulu.aspx

http://www.britannica.com/topic/Andean-peoples

http://anthro.palomar.edu/adapt/adapt_3.htm

http://www.agriculturesnetwork.org/magazines/global/mountains-in-balance/indigenous-knowledge-re-valued-in-andean