Human Variation and Race Post

1. Early hominins who migrated out of Africa and into Asia and Europe were tasked with facing extremely cold temperatures, and cloudy skies.  In comparison it was a large drop in temperature in both summer and winter time.  This meant that winters offered fewer hours of sunlight, in addition to the animal skins and other thick clothing they wore.  This also decreased their exposure to sunlight which meant a severe lack of Vitamin D.  This concept is known as the Vitamin D Hypothesis. 


2. 

The short term adaption to this problem was the bodies natural response when body temperature drops, shivering.  The shivering is really the body heating up the body by using it's muscles in order to fight off the cold weather.

The facilitative adaptation to this problem was vasoconstriction.  Vasoconstriction is "the narrowing of blood vessels in the human body." When blood vessels constrict, the flow of blood is obstructed and slowed, this traps the heat inside our bodies longer than usual.  I do not believe this can be used as a long term factor to survive in the cold but it does temporarily protect humans from losing radiating their body heat too quickly.

The developmental adaptation to the extremely cold weather was to change their diet.  Typically, humans that lived in colder parts of the world were noted to consume fatter foods which resulted in a endomorphic body shape, more round and shorter. 

The cultural adaption to the dramatically cold weather was the use of thicker clothing.  In addition, creating artificial heat sources like starting a fire or using a heating device are used to fight the low temperatures.  Drinking alcohol is also a common practice to raise body heat. 

3.  The benefits of studying human variation shows us that different environmental stresses have provoked different responses from humans.  Knowing that the human body is capable of adapting in many forms is useful and helpful.  Perhaps if somebody wanted to move into a cold area they can now understand the measures the body will use to help circulate comfortably. 

4.  The word "race" is misused and misunderstood throughout the world.

  However, I would use the word strictly to acknowledge the environmental stresses that each population hails from.  This shows the scenarios and different challenges and changes the body has gone through in order to survive under such conditions. 

Communication seen through Different Lens

Like playing a game of charades, using the body to communicate to my partner was undoubtedly troubling.  Feeling foolish and useless with symbolic language, this assignment proved every difficult because any message I attempted to convey was misinterpreted.  It is astonishing noting the changes in my partner as he tried to communicate back to me.  First, trying to speak at louder volumes, as if that would somehow change my message, then speaking very slowly with the same hopes.  Soon the conversational questions were changed to simply "Yes and No" questions that I could answer easily.  Should my partner and I represent different cultures, his culture was easily holding an advantage because their ability to express themselves over a longer distance would be more effective.  If an entire culture was created based on exclusion of symbolic language, expressing and conveying messages would be no issue.  It's long distance and group communication that would be hindered and ineffective without using vocal or written means of communication.  I'd imagine that should these two groups collide, they would think poorly of each other and uphold their means of communication as the superior.  The speaking culture would most likely speak slower and louder to stress their points, to no success.  Since I travel to Mexico 3 times a year with my church, and I speak little to no Spanish, the hand gestures and slow speaking are my means of communication.  Too different languages with no connections rely heavily on using the body to express yourself.

Speaking was no problem for me, this second portion of the experiment actually favored my type of voice and tone.  Their initial reaction was simply to listen, but soon they realized I was keeping my hands still, not using my usual hand gestures and tone change to emphasize my points.  I believe that our culture, especially socially has embedded the combination of both forms of communication.  Seldom do people talk without using their hands, at this point it simply feels natural.  The ability to explain ourselves through formal language is very powerful and advantageous because if both sides understand the language,  there will be no misunderstandings.  The ability to read body language seems to be vital in understanding emotion within another being.  Claiming they are comfortable in a chair while constantly readjusting themselves in the chair is a good example of the usefulness of reading body language.  Two ways to confirm somebody's thoughts is very powerful.  The only time that inability to read body language would be helpful is if one is scared of Mimes, you would not be able to read their movements and therefore have nothing to be scared about!