The Zulu’s and The Andean Indians

The Zulu people live in South Africa there population is about 3 million people, they are most know from there beadwork and basketry.  The name of the Zulu people came from, one man and his decedents make up the Zulu clan. The Zulu people raise cattle and farm for many different fruits and vegetables. The women are the ones that own the homes and are in charge of keeping everything afloat. 

The Zulus are Africans and in the area where they live is extremely difficult for them to complete their labor intensive jobs.  The Zulu have many traditions and rituals that they partake in each year. In many of the areas where the Zulu live the women have to collect water, wood, do the cooking, cleaning and any other household task. For the Zulu women the job their job is never done. The Zulu people live in huts made of long grass and their floors are made of hardened clay. The Zulus also believe that illness because stress and misfortune, so if a family member dies they are considered to have misfortune.

Over time the Zulus learned to adapt to there always changing economy and way of life. They struggle for many years with having their own freedoms and rights. They also had to adapt to the climate in South Africa. It is extremely hot and they live in an area with only low grasses that don’t provide any shade. 

The Zulus skin had to adapt over time to deal with the harsh UV rays from the sun and that is why their skin pigmentation is so dark. Traits about their appearance also changed such as there noised widened so they are able to breathe in the hot African air every day. The Zulu have had to learn to adapt to the harsh thunder storm that happen in the area where they live. They believe they should always put away all of the mirrors, pots, sink and much more in order to protect themselves from being struck by lightning. Many Zulu people still die each year from being struck by lightning.  The Zulu people as a race are African American people and have had hardships among their people from many years because of slavery and wars among other nations.

The Zulu people have had to adapt in many different ways in order to survive in the extremely temperamental African air. Both their race and adaptation play off of one another. The Zulus have had many problems with their race because they are African they were in slaved and forced to do hard jobs in the sun and heat which forced them to adapt faster to their environment otherwise they would have all died by now. Many people from America today would not be able to survive in the harsh African sun because of their own skin pigmentation and not being properly equipped to breathe and work in the African sun.

The Andeans Indians are people Indians that have learned to adapt to high altitudes that most people would ever be able to survive at. The Andeans have also learned to thrive under these high altitudes conditions when other cultures would flounder.

 The Andeans people are able to breathe in less air and their bodies have learned to take more oxygen in to their blood so it is easier for them to breath and such high altitudes. The Andeans bodies had to adapt to the area in which they live so that they would struggle to breath with every breath. Breathing is something most people don’t even think about so imagine having to stress about breathing every time you took a breath it would be unbearable. The high altitudes of the Andes have been occupied by people for more than 10,000 years and by millions of people (J.L Rupert). Babies of the Andean Andeans born in the high altitude have better developmental adaptations then ones born and sea level. The Andeans have to wear very think ponchos in order to stay warm because it is very cold in the high altitudes at which they live.

The Andeans Indians are hard to describe as anyone races because they are so different from any other people on earth. They live in the highest city on earth which is in Bolivia. If I could describe them as any one race I would say they would be close to Native Americans, this is because of their skin pigmentation and traditions. The difference between their race and adaptations are that race describes there outer appearance and adoptions would be the way they adapter to breathing at such high altitudes. The Andeans are amazing and fascinating people that have learned to live in an extremely difficult environment.

Summary

Both of these unique cultures have had to adapt to the places that they live. Both of these races are very different put fit to the circumstances at which they live. The Zulu are African people that have had to adapt to the harsh sun in order to survive and this goes a long with their races because African in fact do have darker skin than other people in order to not get skin cancer and to deal with the UV rays from the sun. Because race is how you look and adaptation is how your body has to react in order to survive I think they both go hand in hand. The Andean people have lighter pigmentation then the Africans do because they are in high altitude and in a way colder environment. The Andeans have had to have their lung adapt to the breathing conditions and this also goes along with them being Indians. Indians all over the world have had to adapt to the situations and have learned to thrive.

Sources

Introduction to the Zulus, unknown author, © copyright 2008

http://izmo.tripod.com/project/zulu.htm

Zulu Culture, Graham Chennells, Zulu Culture and about the Zulu people, the Zulu

Nation, and Zulus in Zululand; covering various aspects of the Zulu Culture,

http://www.eshowe.com/article/articlestatic/65/1/13/

Genetic approaches to understanding human adaptation to altitude in the Andes

J. L. Rupert 1, * and P. W. Hochachka 2 1Department of Pathology and

Laboratory Medicine and 2 Department of Zoology, the University of British

Columbia, Vancouver, Canada V6T 2B5 *e-mail: rupert@zoology.ubc.ca

Accepted 2 July 2001