Week 3 : Language

Part 1:
I found this to be difficult when i was communicating with my partner as i lacked the ability to be more descriptive with what i was trying to say. Many of the trains of though were boiled down to simple smiles and negative gestures but I lacked the ability to truly express full ideas. In turn my partner after the initial few minutes changed the conversation into close ended questions were a simple head nod or facial expression could answer the questions, otherwise he was left with half answered questions. In the end i believe that the culture that has the advantage is the culture that is able to communicate complex ideas not thru one mean but thru a cornucopia of way, be it spoken, written or thru body language. In retrospect i believe that the culture that is able to communicate more efficiently will alter their way of communicating with the opposing subject. Their questions and interactions will be a lot more brief, many times missing pertinent information not because they are careless but because they lacked the ability to have full understanding. Having worked many years in retail and customer service based jobs i've bared witness to people becoming agitated and down right nasty because they were unable to communicate with someone that lacked the ability to communicate with them. In the successful communication I did notice that several times a lot more bodily gestures were made, words were spoken more slowly and like an intricate game of charades a lot of guessing took place.

Part 2:
I regretfully was not able to do the 15 uninterrupted minutes without any physical embelishments. I would soon laugh when i heard my voice or would catch myself making facial expressions. What i did notice thou in the time that i was able to strip myself of all embellishments was that i lacked the ability to convey proper tones my jokes did not make sense, my sarcasm and compliments were misconstruded. Even any authority that i held over my pet dog was lost and he just stared at me confused. My partner was confused at my train of thoughts, often picking up on punch lines and tongue in cheek remarks were now lost altogether. The conversation turned into a very boring one sided relay of though because my responses were neither supportive or encouraging, this caused the conversation to turn into a monolog. I think the usage of "signs" has become indispensable to properly communicate, long ago were the days were a prolific vocabulary was common, instead its been replaced by tones and hand gestures. I do believe that there are individual that lack the agility or the ability altogether to recognize different gestures made with the body. Some of these individuals are people with SLD, a characteristic that manifest itself with the inability to use non verbal methods of communication. A time where there would be a benefit in not reading someones body language would most likely be when you meet someone that is of different cultural background or just plain different from you, your body language and non verbal methods of communication have developed thru the interaction with a certain culture and the individual. We can't be quick to expect people to share similar non verbal communications, we could misconstrued someones lack of interest as flat out hostility or their kindness as something else.

Part 3:
I believe that if we would of been permitted to use any form of written language it would of aided in the ability to communicate, There was a level of communication done non verbally but it lacked the "why" factor. I would of been able to properly explain why i like certain things over something else or why i would place something in a specific area, it would of allowed us to convey ideas in depth although much slower than spoken words. For a culture that not only develops but uses written language they are able to establish precedence of their history, their history can be passed down without their history being altered by word of mouth and someones failing memory. In regards to the spread of ideas around the world via the written language i believe it to of had a unifying effect, to a certain extent we remove the individual from the equation, what we propose are ideas without the unnecessary non verbal undertones that someone would bring or further yet the unnecessary misunderstanding that could arise from a misconstrued body language misconception.

Week 2: Zulu/Andean Indians

The region of KwaZulu Natal (Zululand) basks in a sub-tropic climate most of the year, warm and humid. Its summer months taking place during October-march with temperatures averaging around 80* Fahrenheit with a deviation of +/- 5 degrees. Much of Zululands rain, although spread thru out the summer months, takes place during the summer month of January, with yearly averages ranging from 26 inch to 38 inches of rain. Although rain in Zululand is like clock work there is a tendency for drought to take place every 7 years. Because of its location both NE and SW winds will blow thru the land which in turn helps maintain the warm and humid weather down during the summer time, rarely having temperatures over 100*F. Because of the continuous exposure to the tropic latitudes and the suns ultraviolet light the Zulu people have developed  a significant dark pigmentation to their skin. This allows the Zulu people to have a reduce risk of skin ailments associated with sun exposure, ie skin cancers. The darker pigmentation, melanin in the Zulu, acts as a barrier that shields them from overexposure to the ultraviolet beams. This is a trait that the Zulu have developed and passed on to their offspring so their bodies are able to produce vitamin D without the severe dangers of ultraviolet radiation overexposure.   

In order for the Zulu people to adapt to the ever changing world around them, many have left the traditional train of thought, where the males were responsible for the herds and women were responsible for the harvest, in turn this is a more common practice in the rural areas of South Africa. The Zulu people would be described as belonging to the African race, given their direct lineage from Africa and their predominant physical traits. 

Increased chest development is needed 

 

 

for 

larger lung capacity

The Andes mountain contains one of the most lavish climates worldwide. Ranging from the tropical vibrant green rainforest and constant rain to a bone chilling mountainous peak miles away and wastelands. Running and impressive 4500 miles along the west coast of South America, the Andes mountain are one of the worlds highest mountain ranges. Due to the higher than normal elevations of the Andes mountain, the Andean Indians bodies not only have a higher lung capacity but their bodies produce an elevated amount of hemoglobin, both of which aid the Andean Indians in a more efficient oxygen transportation thru-out their body compared to a person that is not from a similar location. In order to overcome the limited farming real estate that the Andean Indians have they cultivate their crops on the hillside using a method more commonly known as agricultural terrace. This allows for crops to be planted on the hillside along a stair like foundation that the Andean Indians produce along the mountainside. The Andean Indians would most likely fall into the American Indian race, as they hail from the Americas and they are aboriginals.

As an Anthropologist an adaptation to the environment I believe will provide a better explanation to the people as oppose to the outward appearance. If the theory of evolution holds true then our view of peoples physical attributes cant be our sole focus, it would be taking things out of context, a physical appearance isn't something that will change over a single generation. It is something that took hundreds of years to pass down from generation to generation.

http://www.tintasafaris.co.za/climate.html

http://www.zulu.org.za/index.php?districthome+29++57984

http://anthro.palomar.edu/adapt/adapt_4.htm

http://www.africanholocaust.net/peopleofafrica.htm

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/andes_climate.htm

http://anthro.palomar.edu/adapt/adapt_3.htm

http://www.talktalk.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0028672.html

Week 1 Blog Post: Part A

• Choose five (5) descriptive words you would use to describe the population Miner discusses.
• For each of your chosen words, write a short paragraph explaining why you chose this word and provide examples from the text that back up your choice of this word.

Superstitious - "In this chest are kept the many charms and magical potions without which no native believes he could live."
This statement outlines the train of though of the people, the sole fact that the focal point is to have many charms/potions to the point of overflowing speaks vastly about the superstitious beliefs. Beyond that, the belief that without these things the natives believe they would meet their demise demonstrates that its not a simple casual belief, rather its something that is needed equally as much as nutrition and air is needed to continue living.

Ritualistic - "Beneath the charm-box is a small font. Each day every member of the family, in succession, enters the shrine room, bows his head before the charm-box, mingles different sorts of holy water in the font, and proceeds with a brief rite of ablution."
The definition provided by Merriam-Weber Dictionary pertaining to the word ritual "A religious or solemn ceremony consisting of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order."Nails what the Necirema do on a daily basis. The fact that as a whole the Necirema culture have continued practicing the same ritual over many years on a daily basis encompassing the whole population dictates that its more than a simple fluke or coincidence, rather it is a ritual that is passed down from the elders to a new generation.

Sadist/Masochist - "These practitioners have an impressive set of paraphernalia, consisting of a variety of augers, awls, probes, and prods. The use of these objects in the exorcism of the evils of the mouth involves almost unbelievable ritual torture of the client. "
The fact that the culture as a whole is involved in either the receiving or inflicting portion of pain and that its become something that you must do, something that you teach that must be done for the better of yourself embraces the idea of sadism and masochism. This is further backed up by the fact that these practices are done constantly by the whole population.

Reserved - "In everyday life the Nacirema avoids exposure of his body and its natural functions.....Psychological shock results from the fact that body secrecy is suddenly lost upon entry into the latipso"
In a present culture where many "bear it all" it is unique to see that the Nacirema are reserved people, even to their own spouses. It is no surprise that having this vast amount of "privacy" creates a shock. Interesting enough that the Nacirema would conceal themselves to their spouses, whereas it is common in many other cultures to share a certain intimacy reserved to that individual.

Puzzling - "Conception is actually very infrequent. When pregnant, women dress so as to hide their condition. Parturition takes place in secret, without friends or relatives to assist, and the majority of women do not nurse their infants."
It is strange knowing that in many cultures life is celebrated, that a child is a badge of honor that many women display proudly, the Nacirema would attempt to prevent it.  Their involvement of magical material and limited intercourse to prevent conception is baffling given the fact that without the conception of a new generation the Nacirema would cease to exist.

WEEK 1 BLOG POST: PART B

• As an American, how do you feel about your choice of descriptive words in Part A? (If you are from another country, you can still comment on your choices based upon your first hand experience with American culture but include the fact that you are from another culture.
• Do any of your choices exhibit ethnocentrism on your part? In other words, do any of your descriptive words reveal a judgment of the Nacerima rooted in your own cultural bias? Are any of your words free of bias? Identify the words you feel are biased and unbiased and explain your reasoning.
• For any of the words that are biased, can you provide alternate words that are free of bias but communicate the same explanatory information and intent of your original word?
• From this experience, reflect on the importance of avoiding ethnocentric judgments when describing other cultures. Why is it important to describe another culture in a manner as free from personal cultural bias as possible? Do you think it is possible to completely avoid personal cultural bias as a Cultural Anthropologist?

In regards to the 5 words that i chose, i believe that a few of the words are descriptive of Americans. It is very amusing to me that as i was choosing the descriptive words i couldnt help but smirk at the thought that Ive partook in ritualistic tendencies. That the words were ringing loud an clear on the amazing similarities that were shared between Americans and the Nacirema. Its so interesting to me that the words that were published 50+ years ago still hold true in present day, that regardless of the leaps in technology and our understanding of other cultures and of ourselves that we still carry these traits around fearing to let them go.

I believe that all 5 words that were selected demonstrate a judgment of the Nacerima, none of them free of bias. I was quick to choose words like "Ritualistic" and "Puzzling" yet I partake in daily rituals that are comparable to the Nacerima. I wake up, go to the gym for an hour, get ready for work, i eat lunch and go for a jog, come back to work, go home and eat dinner, spend time with loved ones and then sleep.... The same routine day after day. I was quick to choose puzzling yet Ive been part of the crowd that shakes their head at an unplanned pregnancies yet my statement follows stating that in most cultures life is celebrated and that women boast about the pregnancies like a badge of honor. I don't think that a single word was free of bias because I used what culture I know the best and compared the Nacirema to it, unconsciously holding my beliefs as absolutes.

I would change my choice of word "Superstitious" into "Supernatural", this would give it a more solemn undertone. Superstition is something that we take lightly, we carry rabbits foots on key-chains, we toss salt over our shoulder, we make jokes about breaking mirrors. Yet we will blindly without questioning will accept a "supernatural" explanation, the definition itself has us believing that its something more than the natural (more than the physical) without the childish undertones that superstition carries.

I don't believe that its possible to completely avoid personal cultural bias' as an Anthropologist. What we can help to do is minimize our bias by going thru the motions and hope that one day our vast knowledge and experience will outweigh the years of indoctrination that we've had before even consciously considering the possibility that we are bias. Furthermore, i believe that we should avoid an ethnocentric mentality at all cost. A closed off mentality is the first of many traits that failed governments and cultures share. One can never hope to create bonds that will stimulate growth if your not willing to consider that your way is not the only way. That regretfully the age old saying "My way or the highway" maybe be an ingredient in a recipe that leads to ones pitfall.