Human Variation and Race Blog
A short term adaptation for heat is sweating. Sweating helps regulate our body's temperature by allowing heat loss through evaporation, its the body's way of cooling itself down. It is very important to replace the electrolytes we loose when we sweat by drinking lots of water.
A developmental adaptation to the heat would be bipedalism. Walking upright on only two feet allows us to have less surface area touching a hot surface, which in turn helps keep us cool. Less of our body touching a hot surface, cooler we will feel. Another benefit of bipedalism is that since we are now upright, or bodies and skin are more in contact with the surrounding breezes, also helping in cooling us down.
A cultural adaptation to heat would be electrical fans and air conditioning. Air conditioning is the greatest invention! It can turn a hot room or space cool in a matter of minutes and control the temperature allowing us to remain comfortable. Fans can be turned on when air conditioning is not an option or available and help us stay cool. Another cultural adaptation would be the use of clothing. The use of clothing assists in reflecting the heat and keeping our bodies cool.
The benefit of studying heat on human variation is that it allows us to figure out how to adapt to it and live with it. We learn to either avoid the heat, love the heat, or just find ways to tolerate it and keep comfortable. Information can be useful because we are able to learn different options and techniques that can assist in us staying cool when being out in the heat is necessary. For example, lets say we must be out in the hot sun for a sports related activity. We know that wearing cool clothing, wearing a hat, or holding an umbrella will help beat the heat a bit.
I don't think race can really determine how we adapt to heat. The heat doesn't choose who it wants to target and just heat those people, it is all over. We are all affected, no matter your race or color.
Nice post here. It would be harder to use race in a case like this because these days there is almost no specific skin color to one race. But keeping in mind that we do have an idea of it. We can understand what heat can do to a race. But the general idea does not help us understand it fully.
ReplyDeleteGreat descriptions and I loved your photos. I agree with you that race doesn't determine how we adapt to heat, it has nothing to do with race. I learned a lot from your post and found it very interesting. Good job.
ReplyDeleteGood description of heat stress and its negative impact on the body.
ReplyDeleteGood explanations on your short term and cultural traits.
Skin color is an adaptation to solar radiation, not to heat stress. An example of a facultative trait for heat is vasodilation to help dissipate excess body heat.
Good and interesting example of bipedalism as a possible adaptation to heat. This is one of the current popular theories for why we may have developed the trait of bipedalism. It isn't fully accepted but the argument behind it is logical.
Yes, information gained from studying heat stress and human variation from the adaptive perspective can be applied to our own lives, but it can also help with other issues, such as health and medical sciences.
" I don't think race can really determine how we adapt to heat."
While I don't think anyone suggests that this is the case, I would argue that there are those who think that race could predict whether a person is or is not adept at dealing with heat. Could that be true? Race is based upon external traits, so do all people that live in hot climates look the same and could be assigned to the same race? But I agree with your conclusion. Race is a subjective social construct, not a biological one, so how could we use it to objective understand biological traits?
Great post! Easy to read. Interesting note on the development of bipedalism as an adaptation to heat.
ReplyDelete"The heat doesn't choose who it wants to target and just heat those people, it is all over. We are all affected, no matter your race or color."
Although it would be nice if the heat targeted someone else this summer. I can do without the excessive heat.
Nice analysis (I actually used the same adaptations), but I'm pretty sure skin tone is a developmental adaptation(or an adaptation for solar radiation according to professor Rodriguez). Personally, I think that changing skin tone within seasons (like being more tan) is a facultative adaptation, not a developmental adaptation, but that's just me. I also like how you said that instead of wearing less clothing, you can where reflective clothing. Although, are there any other ways of cooling the body besides clothing and air conditioning?
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