"What you talkin' bout, culture?"

One of the major steps to humanness is the evolution of speech. Our early ancestors, after becoming mobile and acquiring the human’s characteristic bipedal trait, started to develop and form speech. However, one can always ask “How does our speech and communication differ from other primates and mammals?” The thing is, us humans have developed our own system for speech, with a set of alphabets that can be used by anyone to form language and speech. This week’s assignment was to test the different components of speech and language, that is 1) the component of symbolic language and 2) the physical component of speech.

Part 1

The first portion of this experiment required me to not use any sort of symbolic language that is speaking, writing, or sign language. This scenario accounted for the use of speech itself, and put me in a state where my ideas could not be conveyed through speech but only physically communicated, almost like other mammals. To be completely honest though, this was not as hard as it sounded when I first read it. I performed the experiment with my brother, so there was a little bias there (as in if I pointed to something random it was because it usually had some significant event coupled to it that we both knew of), however I managed to convey my ideas and opinions. It was not as difficult because there were no limits to what I could do physically to communicate my thoughts and my signals did not get misinterpreted, that is they were discrete physical actions that could only mean one thing (eg. If I pointed to the television, my brother knew I was talking about the television). As the experiment went on, my brother started to acclimate to the scenario, however in the beginning there were some issues. At first, it was more difficult for him to understand what was happening, he would guess a lot and was confused sometimes, but after a while things picked up. In addition, I also noticed he was using more than usual hand movements and physical cues during our conversation, as in he would point to things more, he would nod his head in agreement or disagreement with his verbal response. Now, if my brother and I represented two different cultures meeting for the first time, he would have the advantage in developing and communicating complex ideas due to the fact that he can rely not only on physical communication, but he will have access to an established language system, and can use symbolic language by speaking ideas, or writing them out. My brother (culture that uses symbolic language) will most likely have the belief that I (culture that does not use symbolic language) am the inferior one. However, in our society today, we have many people today who are not able to utilize symbolic language to communicate, but we still see them as equals, for example those who are born without the capability to hear (i.e. through deafness) or those who are born with difficulties developing language and speech (i.e. through mental retardation). From personal experience, having an uncle who is deaf, it sometimes can be hard to communicate with him, and I always seem to heavily rely on physical communication and hand movements, even though he is very fluent in American Sign Language. The way I see it, is that those people who are seen as “inferior” seem to be more superior than us due to the fact that they not only need to interpret what we say with our complex ideas and symbolic language, but they have to process it and respond back with their simplistic communicational methods.

Part 2

The second experiment analyzed the use of symbolic language but one person was denied any physical means of communication, so no change in tone of voice, facial expression, hand movements, etc. Both, my brother and I, found this experiment to be more difficult (and fun) because every time we started our conversation we would both break out into laughter because of the seriousness on our faces. Therefore, on multiple tries, failed to last the full 15 minutes but not just because of the laughter but also it seemed hard for me to refrain from using facial expressions. As my brother and I attempted to complete the task at hand, my brother did not find it difficult to understand what I was saying but found it hard to interpret how I felt about what I was saying. He did not get how I felt about what we were talking about. He stated “it was like you had no opinion, even though you were literally telling me you agreed with me.” This experiment shows us the importance of communicating through physical ways, and that this simplistic approach to communication is needed to express ideas accurately and with ease. The reason why is because with symbolic language facts, concepts, and laws are easily conveyed however “signs” and non-speech language techniques are needed to express ideas, thoughts, and opinions. In today’s society, there are many individuals that have a hard time interpreting body languages, and it can range from people like you and me to those who physically do not have the capability to see physical cues and motions, that is blind individuals. People who are blind sometimes can be at a disadvantage because they do not have access to how ones idea looks like, or feels like which is conveyed through facial expressions, hand movements, etc. There are not many environmental conditions I can think of where not reading body language is beneficial, however I can think of certain physical conditions where it is not beneficial to read body language, and that is when an individual is diagnosed with tourette syndrome. A person with tourette syndrome might communicate an unwanted, and depending on the situation inappropriate, physical gesture or sign, therefore it would be beneficial for one not to interpret those physical gestures literally.

Part 3

Writing is considered a type of symbolic language, so if we were allowed to use it in the first experiment it would have made things easier, however there would be no reason to perform the experiment then because one can convey complex ideas and thoughts with writing. It is very beneficial for a culture to develop writing because once an established system is created for the use of forming words (i.e. an alphabet), that culture now has access to a reliable and constant system to communicate with one another. This way, complex ideas can easily be communicated with all those who comprehend that system of symbols. Another advantage is that writing allows the preservation of ideas, facts, opinions, etc. that can be revisited in a later time. This advantage of having access to writing, leads to the spread of that idea/knowledge, which is known as globalization. It is because of the development of writing why we can gain knowledge on the concept of globalization itself. It is true that globalization can be spread through other mediums, such as speech, however the idea can not be expressed systematically for others to have access to. 

Zulu tribe and Andean Indians

Zulu Tribe

As we move into summer here in Los Angeles, California the heat is starting to pick up, however this does not compare to the amount of sunshine that the African Zulu tribe, located in the southern portion of Africa, are exposed too. Here the Zulu tribe receives “about 320 days of sunshine a year,” with very little variation in the weather. The temperatures the Zulu tribe experiences throughout the year “range from 73ºF to 92ºF.” The Zulu tribe is specifically located in a region of South Africa known as KwaZulu-Natal, which typically receives from “one day of rainfall a month (usually during June-July) to nine days of rainfall (typically during November-January). The weather, to any sun tanning enthusiast, seems to be optimal however this continuous sunlight exposure is not as beneficial as one might think. In addition, studies have shown that “the ozone layer over South Africa is depleting” leading to increased amount of harmful UV rays entering through the atmosphere and affecting the inhabitants of South Africa.

Taking in all these factors into account, one can conclude that if these conditions were presented to a population over many generations, certain adaptations would take place to benefit and improve the survival rate of those people. Here, examining the individuals of the Zulu tribe, we notice multiple adaptations to the severe climate conditions presented to them over many generations. For example, possessing an overall darker skin tone to adapt to the constant sun exposure and having lengthy (i.e. tall) bodies built to regulate body temperature given the warm conditions they thrive in. Something that a lot of people don’t notice is that inhabitants of such warm conditions adapt to this constant disruption of body temperature by evolving slowly to obtain long, lengthy bodies, that is their body frames are less wide but taller/lengthier. This follows the principles of “Bergmann’s and Allen’s Rules, which together state that a body and its parts that are lengthier have a greater surface area, and with this increase in surface area the more blood is exposed to the air. This adaption then leads to more blood passing under the skin to lose heat faster and at a greater extent, leading to a better regulation of body temperature in warm condition.”

Now, looking at nongenomic adaptations, one thing I keep on noticing while I look through images is that the Zulu individuals seem to wear almost no clothing. One can say that this is because of their status as a 3^rd world country; however I see it as a cultural adaptation. The conception of clothing during primitive time was for the survival of those humans that faced cold climates, however in the case of the Zulu tribe, being exposed to such warm condition, clothing is just a hindrance. They culturally adapted to these warm conditions by down regulating the amount of skin covered and exposing more skin to be cooled off by easier interaction between skin and air.

In our modern society, the most popular race to classify the Zulu tribe under would be Blacks. American, immigrating originally from Europe, have developed literally black and white labels for the inhabitants of this planet. When filing out a standardized test there is no option saying whether you are from the Zulu tribe or from opposite ends like Ethiopia, we have determined that if natural selection has favored for you to poses dark melanin and pigmentation then you are known to belong to the Black race.

Andean Indians

Looking at total extreme, the inhabitants of the Andes Mountains in South America, are exposed to very cold condition, ranging from less than 52ºF to 64ºF, the warmest. Unlike the Southern Africa, the Andes region receives plentiful rainfall each year. A key difference to mention here is that the altitude of both locations differ, whereas the Zulu tribe lives on flat, sub-Saharan lands, the Andean Indians live in altitudes reaching to 20,000 feet!

 A physical adaptation the Andean Indians poses by being exposed to such conditions was increase in lung surface area volume and an increase in the amount of red blood cells. Natural selection favored these adaption because of the hypoxic conditions of where the Andean Indians lived, meaning that they were living in an environment with a depletion in oxygen. This increase in the number of red blood cells (hemoglobin) allowed more oxygen to be transferred throughout the body.

A cultural adaptation to these cold conditions and low oxygen levels was to produce many articles of clothing to provide warmth from the harsh environment. 

Just like in the case of the Zulu tribe, individuals that inhabit the Andes Mountains fall into this black and white category. Being from the South Americas, the Andean Indians would be classified as a Latin based race. This race is not only based on Americas criteria but because the Andean Indians share a lot of food, language, clothing, etc with those around them as well. 

People of Nacerima: That Can't Be Normal, Right?

1) Low Self-Esteem

     The Nacerima tribe seems to be a society full of individuals with low self esteem. Miner believes that “the fundamental belief underlying the whole system appears to be that the human body is ugly,” to the Nacerimas. These individuals are born and raised to believe that they are not good enough with the way they look, so the only option is to fix it with potions and harsh body mutilating rituals. Miner also observed that the “Nacerima possessed this fascination with the mouth,” and that they feared that if they did not participate in these “rituals of the mouth, their lovers reject them.” Having such an obsession with such a small portion of the human body shows how little confident the Nacerima have, unless they go and perform these rituals of the mouth.

2) Complex

     The Nacerima, poses such complex rituals and goals. Miner observed that “the Nacerima like to collect many different charms and magical potions,” which they get from their “medicine men.” However, instead of receiving their potions directly, they must go through not only the medicine men, but travel and depart on a journey to a “herbalist,” with a scribe containing the cryptic potion, who will then translate and provide them with what they desperately seek. It also seems that to support their interesting daily rituals, complex processes are initiated. For example, “Nacerima have a Water Temple in every community where priests, through elaborate ceremonies, purify the water.” Water itself being one of the purest things on this planet, must be analyzed and further purified by special priests.

3) Brutal

     The rituals observed and presented by Minor, that the Nacerima are obsessed about, seem to be very brutal and sadistic. For example, there is one observation made that can put any person in a culture shock state; “women bake their heads in small ovens for about an hour.” Knowing that the human body can’t tolerate such heats produced by ovens, they still take the chance and “bake their heads” in one, an act that can be seen by any other culture as life threatening. There also seems to be brutality in the one thing the Nacerima seems obsessed with, the mouth. Minor reported that “individuals seek out holy-mouth-men who, with tools of the trade, gouge teeth and drill into them and make their gums bleed.” Present this observation to an outsider, and their instinct is to squarm.

4) Secretive

     From Minor’s observations one can conclude that the Nacerima people, as obsessed as they are performing these obscure rituals, they are just as obsessed with hiding the fact that they participate in them. For example, Minor observed that the Nacerima take part in daily rituals in shrines that they have built, but that “the rituals associated with it are not family ceremonies but are private and secret.” It only seems that there are a few exceptions to where the Nacerima people divulge into their experiences with these rituals. One of them is during the time when children of the Nacerima are at an age to discuss the rituals performed in these shrines. Another example when the Nacerima don’t hide in the shadows of their rituals, are those females who choose to go through such inhuman rituals and make their breasts larger, and go on “to be idolized by men, from village to village.” Other than those caveats, the Nacerima seems to withhold information from their community, such as when to be mothers dress in a certain way, to purposely hide the fact that they are pregnant.    

5) Lost

    The overall image of the people of Nacerima Minor has potrayed, seems to be a cultures composed of lost individuals who are born to go through these rituals so their society accepts them. Minor observed and noted that the purpose, of almost all the rituals performed, was to gain further access into their own culture, to be liked and accepted more. They go through brutal rituals, and yet they seem to partake in them year after year. The goal of the Nacerima is to better one’s body through these obscure rituals because they are not satisfied with the way it was in the beginning. They are lost in that, to be accepted into society one has to mutilate their body and suffer pain, if not though luck.