Human Variation & Race

1. Environmental stresses are part of all lives and has a great impact to all. Climate adaption is one of the many environmental stresses humans have encounter and have to adapt to. When living in cold climate there are many dangers that one will face such as hypothermia which is caused when there is a drop in core body temperature.  When living in cold climate usually the person has a greater increase in body mass and a diet that consists in much fattier foods which helps one to tolerate living in such harsh conditions and helps produce an increase in body heat. Cultures in that live in cold conditions face this high extreme weather is by using insulating clothing, houses, and fires. Other ways people adapt to this is by limiting the amount of time that is spent outside and leave those activities to warmer times during the day.  In some cases families will sleep in groups with one another’s bodies being pushed up against each other to help maintain a warmer body temperatures during the cold winter months.  

2. Four ways in which humans have adapted to the stress of living in cold weather are:

• People who are living in such cold climates drink alcohol to help warm them. By doing this it helps to increase blood flow which thereby causing the feeling of warmth. But these results are only temporary and can be dangerous to do because it can speed up the loss in heat from the vital internal organs which results in a more rapid death from hypothermia.

• Body size and shape are a very important influence when living in cold climate. There is a high increase in body mass and compact bodies with less surface area which are more common when living in cold climates. It helps produce a high increase in body heat.

• When living in harsh subarctic regions another way many of the cultures adapt to the cold climates is by consuming large quantities of high calorie fatty foods such as such the Inuit (Eskimo) do.  This knowingly increased the basal metabolic rate, which results in the making of extra body heat. 

• The Inuit (Eskimo) also dress in thick and heavy clothing, often slept in a huddle with their bodies next to each other, and continued to be active when being outdoors.

3. The benefits of studying human variation from this perspective across environmental clines is that we gather new information in which can teach us on how to adapt into a new environment. We can study this information and can receive so much from it. Yes this information can be very useful to help us because it teaches us how one can adapt to a new environment and gives us very valuable information.

4. Race isn’t the reason being why a certain culture can adapt. No matter what race one is we all have that power in being able to and have the capability to adapt into any environment in which is thrown to us. It is just a matter of teaching yourself on how to adapt and also by being taught and learning from other. All throughout society everyone is adapting into which ever environment they live.  It is important to learn information such as this and spread it amongst each other because that is how we are taught and it is how we learn that one’s race isn’t what matters when it comes to adapting into a new environment because we all can adapt no matter which environment we cross paths with.

Language Experiment

The language experiment was quite an experience. It showed me just how both verbal and movement communication is important when communicating with others. It sure did bring that point across to my group in which I conducted the experiment with. Throughout the whole experiment they just simply thought it was hilarious on how much I was struggling on trying to put my input in the conversation but I must admit it was a very fun and joyful experiment for both my friends and IJ.  

Movement: Now part one of the experiments I have to say was the most problematic part of the experiment for me. Not being able to use any form of speaking to communicate with my friends just seemed impossible because just let me tell you I was never good at charades so you can just imagine how this conversation went. I literally felt like I was going to go insane because throughout the whole conversation my friends were unable to comprehend what it is I wanted to point across. I just wanted to scream and shout what it is I wanted to say but I just stayed come and collected while my friends just looked at me with confusion. My partners attempted many times to change the way they were communicating with me but I’m just not great with only using movement and hand gestures to put my point across. I do that much better with verbal speaking. I do believe that a culture that uses speaking as their form of communication would have more of an advantage because it is just easier to learn and habitat a new language but then again any form of language can have an advantage because it is just simply a matter of learning ones language but that can definitely take quite some time to learn. So maybe using symbolic language will be a lot easier to use when trying to communicate with others whom are from a different culture.  

Verbal:  Part two of the experiment was relatively difficult for me because I have noticed that I myself use a lot of movement when it comes to conversing with others. I use the movement as a way to prompt my body language and show expression on the subject in which we are discussing. But since I had to sit still with no sudden movements it made this part of the experiment very challenging for me. I was able to put my point across when talking to my partners. They were fully capable to understand me and my arguments but they just thought it was the funniest thing that I couldn’t use any sort of movement when speaking because even them themselves know how difficult it is not to use hand movements or gestures when participating in a conversation. I do believe that not many people have much of a difficult time reading body language because I do feel that being able to see how one is feeling and the type of mood they’re in can be read by their body language. I also do believe that one can also feel how one is feeling you can just get this vibe off a person when standing next to them.  

After the experiment I came to a conclusion that no matter how one is communicating either it be verbal or movement each one of them has its own characteristics that one can like or dislike. In terms of which one is more important I do feel that both are very important aspect to one’s communication. They are both equally important to have when exchanging opinions, thoughts, and feelings when being part of a conversation or all in general when one is just simply communicating with others.  

Comparative Primate

Primates:

•         Lemurs (Prosimians/Strepsirhini)
•         Spider Monkey (New World Monkey/Platyrrhini)
•          Baboon (Old World Monkey/Cercopithecidae)
•         Gibbon (Lesser ape/Hylobatidae)
•         Chimpanzee (Great ape/Hominidae)

Comparative Trait:

•         Diet

Primate Environment:

·       

• Lemurs: Only live in Madagascar, a large island off the east coast of Africa and on the Comoros Island which is nearby. Lemurs are forest creatures and many of the species live in the Madagascar’s tropical rainforest but there are some which live in dry deciduous forests.

•  Spider Monkey: Live in the tropical rain forests of Central and South America and are also found as far north as Mexico.

• Baboon: There are five different types of baboon species. All of the baboons can be found in Africa or Arabia. Baboons generally prefer savanna and other semi-arid environments, but there are a few which live in tropical forests.

•  Gibbon: Gibbons live in the dense forests of southern Asia.

•   Chimpanzee: They live in social communities in which there are several dozen of animals they share the environment with. Chimpanzees orientate themselves to African rain forests, woodlands, and grassland.  

Dietary Trait:

·       

•   Lemurs: Many lemurs are herbivores, they will consume almost anything the forest’s trees and plants have to give. For example the Ring-tailed lemurs eat fruits, flowers, buds, dark sap, seeds and leaves. There are some species of lemurs, such as mouse lemurs which are omnivores, they eat insects, eggs, frogs, and lizards and as well as plants.

 

• Spider Monkey: Spider Monkeys gather food from the treetops and eat nuts, fruits, leaves, bird eggs, and spiders

 

• Baboon: They eat fruits, grasses, seeds, bark, and roots, but they also have a taste for meat. They eat birds, rodents, and they will even eat the young of large mammals such as antelopes and sheep.

• Gibbon: Gibbons feed on the abundant fruit trees their home has to offer and they are especially fond of figs. They will sometimes add-on leaves and insects into their diets.

 

• Chimpanzee: Chips normally eat fruits and plants eat but they will also consume insects, eggs and meat. They have a greatly diverse diet that includes hundreds of known foods.

Dietary Habits Influenced by Environment:

·          

• Lemurs:  Lemurs are highly adaptive to changes in their environments. When food becomes scarce in the lemurs environment, they will consume as much food as they can. Many of the species are known to consume so much that they double in weight before the dry season. This allows the lemurs to store up enough fat for them to be able to survive on very little food for the upcoming season.

• Spider Monkey: Spider Monkeys go out looking for food in small groups early in the morning. It is believed that Spider Monkeys play a crucial role in spreading seeds of many plants throughout the rainforests of South America. Spider Monkeys play an important role in helping with the growth of their environment. 

• Baboon: They are found in a variety of habitats and are extremely adaptive to new environments. The major necessity for a habitat is the presents of water sources and safe places to sleep such as either in tall trees or on cliff faces. When water is limited, baboons can survive for a long period of time without it by licking the night dew from their fur. Baboons drink every day or two.

• Gibbon: They are acrobatic mammals that are adapted to life in the tress and rarely visit the grounds. They have strong hooked-shaped hands which allow them to grasp branches and long arms for reaching faraway limbs. They use this to their advantage because they are able to swing out and grab fruits growing at the end of branches which limits competition for their favorite foods.

•  Chimpanzee: They are adaptive and are also very knowledge when it comes to finding ways on how to work with their environment such as using sticks to retrieve insects from their nests. They teach themselves ways to adapt to their environment.

 Environment Influence on Physical and Behavioral Traits: 

• Although each primate has its differences I can say that there are a few things each of these primates do have common. Such being when it comes to the environments in which they habitat in they can all become very adaptive to it. When it comes to survival they will all do what it is they can in order to insure that they will live. They will figure out how to locate food, where to to sleep and how to protect what is theirs. Each of the primates share similar dietary habits. they all consume some sort of fruits, plants and insects. 

Historical influence on Darwin: --Alfred Russel Wallace

• Alfred Russel Wallace shared the same feelings of evolution as Charles Darwin, he himself even set Darwin a paper of his that shared his theories towards evolution. Much do Darwin’s surprise, it was closely similar to his theory and that was then and there where he knew he had to go ahead and make it known about his theory before someone else gets praise for it and that is where one of Darwin’s greatest work was published, On The Origin of Species.  

•   Alfred Russel Wallace went on to explore the wildlife in South America and Asia. This is where Wallace supplied Darwin with birds for him to conduct his studies on. Through his exploration he began to develop a better knowledge about natural occurrences. This is where it led Wallace wanting to publish his own thoughts and ideas on evolution. He then decided to send Darwin his theory which to Darwin’s astonishment was nearly similar to his own theory of evolution. Wallace too believed that species were a descent of a previous generation of species and the way the current species looked can be credited to the “environmental factors” in which the specie lived in. Wallace also found his inspiration, as Darwin did too, from an English man named Thomas Malthus who published a book in 1797 called Essay on the Principle of Population. When reading Malthus book that is when it occurred to him and Darwin that both “animals and plants should also be experiencing the same population.” Wallace and Darwin both shared the same realization, that if specie was to carry a similar trait from its previous specie generation, which is what, helps influence on how well the specie will be adjusting to its environment whether it is new or old; the specie will be able to adapt. This is what will help lead the breed to be more successful in any environment it comes across. This will also help the specie be successful in breeding more offspring and the traits will “become more common in the following generation, and the generation after that.”     http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/history_14

• I believe that both Wallace and Darwin were influenced off of one another. They both shared the same thoughts and ideas towards evolution. I felt that they both influence one another positively because once Darwin noticed how much of a similarity Wallace’s theory was to his own, it push Darwin to go ahead and put forth his theory to show the world. Darwin wanted to gain recognition for a theory which he put several years of his life into; this is why I believe Wallace was a great and positive influence towards Darwin.  They both gained knowledge off of one another and both concluded to the same thoughts of evolution at the end.

•  Darwin was a part of this establishment which if one was to judge any thought that was different and not of what was supposed to be thought of or said it would put forward a concern. He was associated with these groups of friends that if there was someone who went ahead and proposed questions that threaten their status quo, it will bring worry to them.  So Darwin was afraid to be judge and possibly be looked at differently. If one was to question the great creator, God, those people where to be made a mock of. The church wanted people to only believe one and one thing only, that God is the one who created all things and Darwin challenged that but because of the possible consequences Darwin left his theory of evolution to himself. But then there was another man who shared the same theory as Darwin did, Wallace, which eventually led Darwin to publish his book On the Origin of Species. He wanted to be recognized and credited for the theory of evolution before someone else was.