Environmental Adaptations

ZULU:

1. South Africa is a subtropical country known for its sunshine. Average yearly rainfall there is about 464 mm. During the summer the average temperature is 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Winter temperatures vary throughout South Africa. In KwaZulu-Natal coast, where the majority of Zulu's live, winter days are sunny with very, if any, rain. 
2. A Zulu physical adaptation is dark skin color (as seen in the picture on the left). Ultraviolet radiation normally decreases during the winter but since winters in South Africa are warm, Zulus encounter ultraviolet radiation year round. Because of this, their bodies have adapted by producing more melanin. Thus, protecting their skin from sunburn. 
3. A Zulu cultural adaptation is their dress. The warm climates they undergo year round encouraged them to dress with very little clothes. As seen in the picture on the right, the women are wearing minimal clothing. 
4. I would choose African because they are from South Africa and typically Africans are dark skinned. 
5. I think physical and cultural adaptations explain more than race because race is based on socially constructed norms while physical and cultural adaptations are based on science and actual facts. 

ANDEAN INDIANS:

                 

1. The high altitude Andes mountains has tropical climates and dry seasons in the winter. The average summer temperature is 70 degrees Fahrenheit while during the winter it's 50 degrees. There is not much rainfall. 
2. A physical adaptation for the Andean Indians is also their skin color. They are not as dark as the people from the Zulu culture because they have lower temperatures in the Andes mountains than in South Africa. (Refer to image on the left) 
3. Similar to the Zulu culture, the Andean Indians adapted their own culturally based dress. They wear hats to protect their face from the sun, yet they have a good amount of clothing on because temperatures are not extremely hot and can actually get cold. (Refer to image on the right) 
4. I would choose South American because of their home location, the Andes Mountains. 
5. Once again, physical and cultural adaptations are more explanatory than describing based on race. I chose their race based on their location, merely boundaries that are socially constructed.

http://www.southafrica.info/travel/advice/climate.htm

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