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.