Amish

Amish

The Amish culture can trace their roots back to the Anabaptist movement in Switzerland in 1525 at the time of the Protestant Reformation. The Anabaptistvice had a strong sense for voluntary adult baptism and a church that was free from state control.  Their first leader was Jakob Ammann which is when they became known as the Amish.

Environment: The Amish community is often used as a synonym for an Amish settlement which is the geographical location where a group of Amish live. In Holmes County, Ohio the settlement consists of 4 main groups and nearly a dozen different “tribes” if each group was broken down within each other. Amish community can be used to refer a group of Amish people which are located at a particular place. Pennsylvania is a home to over 50 settlements all over the state.  During the time of 1992 and 2008, the Amish established 184 new settlements and moved in to six states.  Canadian province of Ontario, Ohio has the largest population of 55,000 followed by Pennsylvania 51,000 and Indiana with 38,000 people. The largest Amish settlements are in Holmes County in central Ohio, Lancaster County in south-central Pennsylvania, and Elkhart and LaGrange counties in northeast Indiana. There are also Amish west of the Mississippi River in Missouri, Iowa, Southeast Minnesota and 10,000 Old Order Amish in West Central Wisconsin.  The Amish are sealed off from modern culture by their religion.

Adapations: Because of the fast rapid population growth that happen in Amish communities which can be up to seven children per family which is a physical adaptations because they have to learn how to adapt to having so many children per family.

 The Amish have very traditional family roles; the Amish population grows very rapidly. They have to own allot of land to be able to grow their food for all of their families. This can cause a hardship if they are in dry areas, or rainy areas.  When where they live is affecting their crops it can overall affect their health and them being able to survive.  The main crops raised by Amish are corn, hay, wheat, tobacco, soybeans, barley, potatoes, and other vegetables.  The farmers also grow different types of grasses for their animals to graze on. They use horses or mules to help them with farming and some Amish people do use some modern farming equipment.  You will see allot of horses in Amish communities because this is what they use for many things such as farming, and their transportation to other places within their communities.

The traditional subsistence pattern used is farming which is the occupation desired by most Amish. The Amish use the physical environment for farming to produce, consume and distribute food and water. All family members male or female are integrated into and agricultural way of life. The Amish keep their farms small enough to be handled by a family unit.  The family size farms are used to serve the meet of the needs of the community and not so much to be used to earn large profits.  A farm can average between 50 and 96 acres in Midwestern areas are where there are larger farms. The Amish choose to concentrate on raising livestock in few numbers and then growing a different variety of crops.  Amish eat food that are produced in their own gardens or farms they do not eat processed or store bought food. Homegrown vegetables and fruits play a very big role in their diet; they eat them fresh, can them, or freeze them.  Cabbage and potatoes are an important part of their diets they also eat vegetables such as peas, corn, zucchini, beets, beans and sauerkraut. They also eat allot of grain products such as bread, cornmeal, and oatmeal. Their main meals are usually a very large heavy meat dish, which can include things such as pork chops, ham, and roast beef. Dairy products such as eggs and cheese are important to them as well. That is why most Amish families have chickens all year round so that they can have fresh eggs daily. In the wintertime soups are their main meals.
 Some of their food might not be able to be farmed all year long so they freeze food so that they do not run out. Some of the farms also have dairies, and or fruit trees, and vineyards so that they always have a steady amount of food growing.  The work is divided by your gender male’s work on farms, and the women do the gardening at home children help with the gardening male or female and when they are old enough they work on the farms as well. There is no division with social class since all Amish families have their own farms to provided food for their families and to share with there communities. Most Amish diets may be high in sugar and high in carbohydrates, but Amish are less likely to have diabetes because they rarely become obese. Most Amish are doing hard labor most of their day whether they are at home or on their farms. They are on their feet more than half of the day burning of the saturated fats that they consume each meal. The Amish culture is not dependent upon and food item that is rare because they grow everything they need.

Economy: The Amish do produce a surplus in food items but that is when they do other ways of keeping the food until it is need. They might can it or freeze it. With some Amish not being able to afford the farmland they live on they have had to find ways to earn money. Amish people can make money by doing things such as farmed produce operations, mobile crews working in different types of developments and at home shops.   The might engage of trade from things they make such as crafts, bake goods, and even canned food items.  The Amish will share left over items of food with their community and grow enough to share. 

Subsistence: Amish feel their lifestyle and their families can best be maintained in a rural environment.  They more traditional groups are called old order and they do not permit electricity or phones in their homes. They feel that by restricting access to modern technogy such as radios, telephones, and televisions they are able to keep the modern world from intruding into their lives at home. 

   A cultural adaptation would have to be that almost all aspects of Amish life is decided and dictated by a list of written or oral rules know to them as the Ordnung which shows the outlines and the basics of the Amish faith and helps to define how and what it means to be Amish.  The Amish people are told almost every aspect of their lives. They have to culturally adapt to the way they have to dress, the way their hair looks and how long it is, the style of their buggy they drive and even are decided what farming techniques you will use. The Amish have to get culturally adapted to having their lives planned out for them completely and how they have to act. The Ordnung varies from each community.  Physical adaptation is that the Amish truly believe that God is the ultimate healthier; some Amish might use modern medical services, but other turn to different forms of medical treatment. Within their geographical climates they have to adapt to the climate changes. When they get illnesses they use old folk remedies and drink herbal teas.  The Amish health habits are shaped by cultural factors and conservative rural values.

Language: The Amish speak the Pennsylvania German dialect which is also known as the Pennsylvania Dutch.  In a few communities they speak a Swiss dialect. In schools they might learn English which to them is there second language.  Very few of them can speak standard German but can speak English and dialect. Some Amish learn to read German scripts so that they can read and understand their religious books. The Amish people often refer to non-Amish people as “English” because they speak the English language.

There are only two specific genders the man and the women.  Major decisions are usually made jointly between the husband and wife.  Amish men and women assume traditional and well-defined gender roles. Amish are rural people with large families. 

 Marriage: Gender Roles: Most Amish people marry young, and do not use any form of birth control it would not be uncommon for an Amish women to have more than 15 children.  Gender roles are very strong in the Amish culture; the men are the head of the household and are responsible for the farming and building duties with in the homes and community. The husband has the final say in spiritual and societal matters. At family meals the husband sits at the head of the table. The women and children are the ones who take care of the home and their family garden. Amish women are expected to marry and have children and submit to their husbands will. They do not believe in divorce. The wife has tasks such as cooking, cleaning, sewing, gardening and keeping up the welfare of the family. It was said that only 3 percent of Amish women have a job outside of their household.  Young children are defined by the roll they can fill as a working member within a community. The birth announcements which are from Amish paper illustrate the rolls of children from the day they are born. Such as “Born to Brother Mennos a little dishwasher name Katie” or “Enos Ys are the parents of a little woodchopper born last week”  (Kraybill & Olshan,220). With being determined what your role is since the day the child was born determines their roles as they grow up to be an adult.   

 The Amish people take care of their own elderly family members and they are very active within their family unit.  If they do not have room in their home the husbands will build an addition to their homes so that there elderly parents can live with them. Children are expected to be respectful, disciplined, honest, and must at all times obey and honor their elders at all times.  Biology on whether you are a male or female defines your gender roles since the day you are born. You do not have a choice on what you want to be or how you want to act it all depends on the sex of you.  I do not think she would be accepted in the Amish culture, because their gender roles are so strict and everything they do is taught by them from different generations before them all based on their gender.

Marriage: The marriage pattern for the Amish is monogamous, and they are not allowed to get a divorce.  They might not marry someone they think is related but due to them all staying with in one community of people and not going to the “outside” world there is a chance that somehow a married couple could be related.  Rumspring which means running or jumping around is the term in the Amish community for adolescence. This is a time where rules may be less strict and misbehaving might not be punished. At the end of the Rumspring the young adults are expected to find a spouse and be baptized.  Amish practice endogamy by marrying within their social group and one who is affiliated with the church this encourages the Amish to stay together and not branch out to the outside world.  The Amish do not believe in homosexual relationships. They are not allowed to join the church and have to leave there congregation which could even lead to them being shunned.

Kinship: Amish marriages occur in a large kin group. The Amish go through three stages of childhood, the little people, scholars and the young people. The little people are below school age, scholars are people who are in school, and the young people are people who are 15 years and older.  For the Amish age becomes social power, wisdom to them is based on age and experience not about education.  Most Amish are married between the age of 22 and 25 and are married on a Tuesday or a Thursday. Marriages usually take place in their home and there honeymoon is spent at the brides moms house where in the morning they wake up and help clean. Amish do not believe in birth control. Men are seen as the head of the household and the person in charge and is treated with more respect that his wife. The husband controls her money which is spent on house items and clothing only when needed. Parents are to teach children what is right and wrong because they do not believe that children not the difference until they are taught.  The inheritance is passed down from generation to generation the children inherited the farm and anything else the family owns.  Children usually have their father’s surnames and their middle names are often their mother’s maiden name.

 Amish culture is based on Christian egalitarian, with views that hold that the Bible teaches the fundamental equality of women and men of all racial and ethnic mixes, economics classes and even age groups.  All individuals within the community do have equal status and social power. The men are the head of household but even the women have power and make decisions with their husband.

Social and Political Organization: The Amish do not depend upon any political powers; they give up their special political rights because they are members of a self-governing group.  The Ordnung meaning order consists of specific rules and laws which are usually unwritten that are passed down each generation by practice and oral tradition. The rules and laws apply the biblical principle of seperation from the world regarding issues such as clothing, use of media, technology, and even leisure activities. To them these rules and regulations prescribe appropriate behavior within their communities. For example Old Order Amish are not allowed to own an automobile and are not allowed to own any new world technology.  A law is that married men are to grow a beard and not a mustache and to wear an Amish hat and vest. A married woman is expected to wear something that covers their heads, and a dress, cape, and apron.  To them this rule is very important because it is a symbol of group identity. Members of the community agree to obey the Ordnung at the time of their baptism and know that they will be subject to church discipline and even excommunication and shunning if they break these vows within their community. The Church leaders might update their laws and regulations as new issues come up and they might get input from district members.  To the Amish they have learned to live with the rules of the Ordnung and to them they believe without regulations there will be no happiness. To them life without limits leads to individuals becoming arrogant, conceited, and self-destructive.  Having an Ordnung to them brings a respect to their community, a sense of belonging, and shapes everyone’s identity which is their three important factors to human satisfaction and happiness. 

Crime: Violence that has happened in the Amish community has been sexual abuse of children. With the Amish living in a community where they do not communicate with anyone outside, or having any form of technology sexual abuse has been less often reported to law. People who are abused and or mistreated have little resources and if they were to seek help outside they might be shunned for breaking there rules.  There have been a few cases broadcasted on the television and it has brought a negative view t on how some people think the Amish live. Thinking its ok to abuse people and knowing they have really no one to help them.  Some Amish teenagers rebel against their parents, the church and even the law by doing things such as going to the outside of their community and using technology and discipline themselves around. I think that this brings a negative outlook on their culture because her we read and hear how they live and then you see some Amish doing the complete opposite of what we are taught and told about the Amish.

Belief Systems: The Amish practice Christian beliefs as their religion they have been shaped by the interpretation of the Bible. The Bible, German Bible, Martyrs Mirror, the Ausbund, and the Dorrecht Confession of Faith are the key sources to their beliefs. Christianity is a very large branch of religion that many people not just the Amish practice as their religion.  The religion of Christians is monotheistic and the deity is identified as three persons in one God, as the father, son and Holy Spirit.  The Amish roots go back to the time of the Protestant Reformation in the 16^th century Europe. Their religious ancestors were called Anabaptists because they baptized adults who had already been baptized as a child.  Jakob Ammann became the leader in the Swiss Anabaptist church where he sought out to revitalize the Anabaptist movement. 

The two most important religious rituals in the Amish lifestyle are baptism and communion.  The people in the Amish community who take the baptismal vow commit to following the ways of Jesus and following the Ordnung as the church of life. This is a lifelong vow that they will promise before God and the other members of the community that they will be accountable to the church for the rest of their lives.  Communion services are held twice a year in the Amish community during autumn and spring this is what frames their religious year. To them these two Communions emphasize self- examination and spiritual rejuvenation.  During communions is the only time offerings are gathered in the Amish services.  Communion is an eight hour service which has a light meal during the service, and they have bread and wine. The pairs of the members wash each other’s feet as the congregation sings.  Religion to the Amish community is everything to them. Without religion they would not function they base everything on their lives off of their religion.

Art: Amish believe that pride of art is a sin, so to them art should be a way for them to express themselves and not do it to show off or to make art for pleasure it usually has a value behind it. Amish quilts are important to them and it is a way for them to express themselves.  They use specific types of colors to portray a symbolic message of nature like using blue for the sky, and green for the grass.  They also might make things such as needle craft, towels which also contain themes of nature with pictures such as flowers, doves, hearts and trees. 

Music in the churches of the Amish people which for some communities might mean in people’s homes is a big part of their lives. Some songs sung during church can be up to 15 minutes long and they sing these songs in German. Singing in German without any rhythm or instruments and are all sung by memory brings the community together in worship.  They have a specific song called Loblied that is always the second song sung at church and can also be sung at weddings. Singing can be related to young people who are growing up getting ready to be at marriage age, and the singing is usually held in bars on Sunday evenings after a church service. During each break between songs the young marriage age male or females are encouraged to talk amongst themselves and socialize.  Some Amish who do play or own a musical instrument are not allowed to be played in public.  Amish adults do not dance, the only time you see dancing is during a young adult’s time of Rumspringa.

                                        Culture:  Amish culture has been very resilient to culture change. They are affected by other cultures in regards to things such as land becoming more expensive causing some to have to reach out in the outside world and get jobs to support their families. They are able to maintain themselves as their own distinctive culture by carefully negotiating between there beliefs, traditions and the modern society. They face many challenges but they are able to overcome them as a community by focusing on their culture and religion.  I consider the Amish culture to be thriving because they have had to find ways to make money but still keep their heads up and keep their faith strong. They don’t give up just because hard ships arise.  The Amish choose to stay out of the modern world but aren’t opposed to change if it is something that will keep their lives simple and their families and communities together. They are able to be happy and live without the modern world interfering with their lives. The Amish culture has come so far in history and it is a culture that will not die out, it is something that people believe strongly in and will contuine to practice there ways of lives and pass on there cultures to other generations in there families. 

http://www2.etown.edu/amishstudies/Deviance.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish

http://pittsburgh.about.com/cs/pennsylvania/a/amish.htm

Amish-Heartland.com

The Power of Art

I think the cave artists were trying to show there struggles, challenges, findings, there stories of there daily lives and activities and the animals around them. I think with different the cave artists were trying to communicate and leave there story behind, for others to see or there children to understand what they had to go through. I think the cave artists could even draw out things like religion and communicate it through there paintings.

I think that there were so many animals on the paintings to show the how different animals mean different things. There were allot of different animals painted such as bison, ox, cattle, bears, deers, wolves, horses, stags, ibexes, and aurochs. I think certain animals represented something different such as horses were in allot of the paintings which could have meant that they were needed and used daily, they were good for the people and very helpful and friendly. I think pictures of deers, cattle, and bison could have represented that those were the animals that were hunted and eaten to survive. Other animal pictures such as bears,  and wolves could have represented that they were dangerous, an enemy to people and that many people feared them. I think that animals were there main source of survival whether it was for warmth from there fur, hunting them to be able to eat, or even using an animal as shelter so drawing the animals showed how important they were to there daily living.

I think the paintings can tell us other things such as the season in which it is at the time. I read that the analysis showed that the horses correspond to early spring, the arurochs to summer and the stags to autumn. Drawing animals like these can help others who see the paintings recognize what season it is and the biological cycle indicates for each species the beginnings of mating rituals which bring life and help them survive. I think the paintings can also help us to better understand what kind of tools they use to hunt or use to build there homes. I think that it will also show where they lived which most of them lived in caves and I think it can even show there different types of diet such as the animals that are being hunted at the time, or even the other foods that they are eating at the time.

I think the early humans had difficulties when trying to paint there pictures because of the darkness in there caves, they had gas lamps but there lights are nothing like the lights we have now so at times it could be very dark for them and very hard to see while painting. They also probably had trouble when it came to painting on some parts of the cave because some parts might have been very small and some parts might have been to high or a tight squeeze when getting in to the cave.

I think three possible functions of this art could be to communicate with others things such as dangerous animals or harmful plants, or animals that you are suppose to hunt. I think it is a way to educate others if they cant tell them things they need to know, and they can use the paintings to tell stories about there lives to pass on stories to there children and there children's children. I think it could have also been a way for them to entertain themselves, give them something to do and have fun while doing it.

Some commonalities in the art of early humans and modern humans is the story behind some artists paintings. Early humans used paintings in caves to tell stories, show there struggles, capture things that they saw and wanted to show others. I think modern artists do the same thing at times they capture and draw things that they want others to enjoy and see and even draw things as way to understand different ways of life. Art of early and modern humans is a way for people to communicate with others.

My favorite form of art is Photography

3. “ Beauty can be seen in all things, seeing and composing the beauty is what separates the snapshot from the photograph. – Matt Hardy

You often don’t or can’t see beauty in the world until someone shows it to you. Take a look around you just now – even without moving from the computer. Can you see something in a new way, a different way of presenting something common? Just take a look again…

 http://digital-photography-school.com/photography-quotes#ixzz1vkasvbdR

"Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film".

Photography serves many purposes for many people. It can capture any moment in time that is special to someone, when they see something they have never seen before, when they want to show other people things that they might never be able to see, to educate people on other cultures, to see different point of views of things through the way the picture is taken or even the color of the picture.

I think the culture surrounding photography is the different types of cameras there are the different types of lens, the types of films and even the different types of colors used like color and or black and white.

The art form of photography benefits society because it can capture a moment in history and that picture can be saved for many generations to see and learn about. Seeing pictures of certain historical events can be easier to understand then written documentation. Photography makes the world well known to others who might not be able to see it for themselves. I think that seeing pictures of historical people like George Washington makes us able to understand who he was and what he looked like instead of having to try and imagine it for our selves.

I think photography can have detrimental affects in ways such as if the photographer doesn't take an accurate photo of something and or takes a photo and edits it so its not how it was at first and all we see is what the photographer wanted us to see. I also think that photographs can show a bad image of people when taken by the wrong person.

Kinship

KINSHIP

My interviewee was my older cousin Ian. He is a 28 year old Caucasian male who is currently single.  He was born in Newport Beach California at Hoag Hospital. He went to University of Nevada, Reno and has a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology. He enjoys riding his bike everywhere; he would rather ride a bike then drive a car. Last summer Ian and his best friend rode their bicycles from Venice Beach California to New York City! It took him and his friend two months, and they only stayed in a hotel two times. They camped outside and also cooked there food outside.  Something I found out during this interview is that he is afraid of water.  

I was really comfortable throughout the interview he was very calm when I was interviewing him and was extremely informative.  I did not experience any awkwardness or discomfort during interviewing my cousin.  I do think that if it would have been awkward that it would have affected the thoroughness of my interview and since it wasn't at all I think it made this interview very efficient.  I think if it would have been someone else it would have been very uncomfortable at times talking about my family stuff and really getting in to our family relationships, and even talking about divorce in families.  One of the patterns to see is that both grandparents stayed married until they passed away and that there were divorce for both my mom and my aunt my cousin’s mom. There is a difference with my cousin Ian and the rest of his mom’s side of his family because he lives out here in California and his mom and sisters all live in Nebraska and his dad lives in Reno Nevada. His dad’s side of the family is a lot larger than his moms. On his moms side of the family I am his only cousin whereas on his dad’s side he has four cousins.  His older sister and youngest sister both have a child, he said that his attitude towards his older sister is a little different because his younger sister is married and the older sister is not. He does not believe in having children before marriage.  On both of our moms side of the family which is how we are related we do not talk to our second cousins or extended family at all. After our grandparents passed away we all stopped having contact. He believe it is because of the older family members because he told me that he tried to keep in contact and visit them because they live in different states and they never followed up with it.  Both sides of the families are very social with each other just not both sides of the family at once.  Ian also does not talk to his dad but maybe a few times a year, which has really impacted there whole family. We got in to why  they do not but I don’t want to post it all on here, but I think because of their lack of communication it has brought a sadness to him  you could tell when I was asking him questions about his dad and the way he was answering them. He says he is a lot closer with his mom’s side of the family because it is smaller than his dad’s side of the family.

I know my relatives on both my mom and dad’s side of the family.  I do not socialize with them equally. My dad’s two brothers live in town,  with my four cousins, my dad’s other sister and brother both live out of state but I am in contact with them allot. With my dad’s family living in town and two of my cousins being my age it makes it allot easier to socialize and be with them on holidays, special occasions or just hanging out.  I do not socialize with my cousins on my mom side of the family as much as I would like to because they all live in Nebraska. With my cousin Ian living here at my house right now it has brought us allot closer and given us the chance to socialize more but my cousins his sisters who live in Nebraska we rarely talk. We use to talk all the time when I had a Facebook which made it easier to keep in contact and plus we didn’t have to pay the long distance charges on our phones but since I do not have one anymore we rarely talk.  My parents are divorced which makes it really difficult at times with decisions made in our family. I am the only child which makes it even harder at times because I feel stuck in the middle of the both of them. My dad makes the decisions in my life just as much as my mom does. I live with my mom so she makes allot of the decisions but my dad helps me with making decisions about health, school, and even cars etc… I think  living with my mom full time since the day my parents got divorced more than 15 years ago, it really does make my mom have the biggest decisions made in our lives.  I do not think that any of my aunts or uncles is treated any differently because they were not born in to our family. I would never treat anyone like they were different because they were married in to the family nor would anyone else in my family.  My cousin Ian who I did this interview with is my only guy cousin on both sides; in fact I have 11 girl cousins.  I think this exercise has taught me how much divorce really affects families. I think that when I have my own family I want to make sure that everyone is close no matter how far apart we live from other members of our family. I think that family is the most important thing and I sometimes feel like I have a big family but at times it almost feels like lonely because I am the only child and I do not hang out with my family as much as I would like.

I enjoyed doing the chart with my cousin and mom and dads side of the family so I decided to do mine.

Hunter Gather VS. Agriculture

There are advantages and disadvantages for both hunter-gather societies, and agricultural societies. Agriculture is growing food plants like grains, tubers, fruits, and vegetables in soil prepared and maintained for crop production. Agriculturists to do not have to be on the move for food, and have to hunt food for survival like hunter gathers do. Agricultural societies are able to maintain structure within there environments such being able to make a community and housing for their families. With everyone working together to grow there crops they are able to maintain having food all year long. I think it brought allot more knowledge to the people in that society because they were able to learn and grow with out having to worry and travel constantly.  Agriculturists surplus crop cultivation is substantial it can provided food not only for their own needs but also for those of various specialists and non producing consumers. In the early food producers they came up with several crop complexes such as adapting to dry uplands and wetlands. Hunter gathers were in small groups which was good for them because  it was easier to travel, to hunt and get there food, and easier to relocate and less people to feed at a time. Hunter gathers do not have to rely on others for there food, they do not have to wait for there crops to grow so this makes them more independent then some people who are agriculturists. Hunter gathers might not gain as much weight as agriculturists because they have to go out and hunt there food, pick their berries and are always on the move, causing them to be on there feet constantly and only having so much food at a time depending on the weather and where they are.




The disadvantages that come with being a hunter and gather is like i stated above that they are always on the go, they have to be able to carry there food which can not be enough for everyone they are trying to feed. They might experience scarce food during harsh times such as during winter. They do not have surplus of food and they can not store there food, because it might get bad, and or they are never in the same place for to long so they wont have anywhere to store the food. Hunter gathers have to travel in small groups because they have to carry what they are going to eat and at times there might not be enough to feed everyone and at times they might not be able to find food at all causing hunger and starvation to happen among them. People who only agriculture I think are not as active and healthy as the hunter gathers, they might eat more then they need to like allot of us now. They might not get enough protein like the hunter gathers would.


Hunter Gather's diet would lead to a healthier diet because they had a different variety of food because they traveled and hunted different types of animals. They could find a different range of things such as berries, and or different types of animals giving their bodies different types of nutrition. They did not eat the same things daily like the people who used agriculture.  




I think some human populations made the transition in to agriculture because I think with the populations growing and there skills with making tools advancing it was becoming more difficult to travel and hunt with larger groups of people with them. I think since they were finding out how to use different types of tools and ways to use them to hunt and grow crops they found it easier to maybe still go out and hunt if needed but to just stay in one place and use agriculture. 


The surplus attaches it self directly to trading. In an society where there is a surplus of things it allows a society to trade, sell, barter, or even keep things that they need. Or sell and trade things to other people to get the things that they need. 


One of the social benefits of trade is getting better knowledge of things we are not use to, or things we do not know about. Such as different types of tools, food, clothing, medical equipment or even housing stuff. Another benefit of trade is the connection between different societies and countries it has given us. We go to places to trade things and it opens your mind to a different place that you would have never been to before. 


I think two negative social results of the development of trade is one that it can become very competitive and it can become to much about the politics of each society with trading rather then the importance of trading it self. I think another negative result can be if one society has to relay on other society for a certain surplus and if it does not come in time it can be bad for a certain society. 


I think with agriculture there is a more stable way to get a surplus and start trading there crops. With agriculture if a society grows a certain thing that others want then that can help that society with trading things constantly. Agriculture there are allot of things they can grow and then trade. 

Language

I found this first experiment pretty difficult. I did not realize how hard it is to communicate with people without using any sort of symbolic language. As I do this assignment it really opened my eyes to other aspects in my life because I take care of senior citizens where some of them cannot communicate with any language anymore.  Even though this assignment was for only 15 minutes it really opened my eyes to the struggle and frustration that it might cause to people who can’t communicate with language when they need, want or just want to talk about something.  When I take care of the seniors who cannot communicate I do allot of showing things to them. Such as when I get them breakfast I choose multiple things and show them to them, and most of them point but others just smile when they see something which shows me that is something they want to have.  I have always tried my best to really understand how to communicate properly with people who cannot communicate with symbolic language and it is something that I gain knowledge daily on new ways to communicate with them since they cannot communicate with symbolic language.  I have found ways with using our senses like touch, and hear to communicate in a better way.  My partner in this experiment did alter the way of communicating with me because I was not talking and was not able to write things down when we were trying to have a conversation. My partner was my cousin who I live with and when I got home from work we started this experiment. He was asking me questions about how work was today, and what we were making for dinner. I tried to explain to him what I wanted for dinner and at one point he just started to take things out of the fridge and I was shaking my head yes and or no.  He altered his way of communicating with me within the first five minutes he stopped talking and just kept making faces like was it a happy day and he smiled, and then yawned and I thought he was asking if I was tired.  I was trying to use my mouth to say words without actually talking and he was laughing because at one point he had no idea what I was talking about.  I think my cousin in the first experiment when he using symbolic language definitely had an advantage. I think you would have an advantage when trying to communicate complex ideas. I think after doing this experiment and talking to my cousin after, he said it was really hard to even understand what I was trying to say almost the whole time until I started to point to things and shake my head yes or no but even then he said he was confused. I think there might be a very strong attitude from the speaking culture towards the culture that does not use symbolic language because it can cause allot of confusion and or frustration if there is something you are trying to find out. I think it is definitely interesting learning new ways of communicating such as American Sign Language but for people who do not know or understand it I think some people might come off as rude if they cannot communicate the way they want to. I think when people are open to new things such as learning to communicate with other cultures that do not use symbolic language it can help to better understand different cultures and the way they have to communicate with each other.  For part 2 I did not think it would be hard at all but in fact I didn’t even last the full fifteen minutes without moving my hands. I never thought I talked so much with my hands but when we stopped talking my cousin told me that I moved my hands more than five times in ten minutes. I was fine the first few minutes then in we got deeper into a conversation and I even moved my head a few times. I did not even realize that I was talking with using movement until he finally laughed and then I noticed. I felt like I was talking in a mono tone for a little bit and he said for a few minutes of our conversation it seemed super fake because I could not talk the way I would normally. He said It almost felt scripted because I was trying really hard to just sit and talk without using any sort of movements.  I think non-speech language is very important in our lives and I think that American Sign Language should be something everyone is taught along with other language’s because I do not think knowing one language benefits being able to communicate properly with other people, and even other cultures. I think the fact that I could not talk for a long period of time without using my hands to talk showed me that using sign language or just using different hand motions in a conversation can really help to get a point across or to make a statement if you are trying to say something. I think there are definitely people who have difficulty reading body language. I work at a senior citizen home and I work with seniors who have severe Alzheimer’s and Dementia. When working with seniors who at times can no longer communicate there wants or needs reading body language is a key factor in my job. I have seen many people who come and go working with us who do not know how to read body language. And for example a resident who is mad and cannot tell us what I have seen people try and talk to them and it causes them to get very agitated when in fact the way they were standing could have told them it all. I think that knowing how to read body language in any environment can be helpful. For instance someone who might commit a crime might walk in to somewhere with a certain type of body language and knowing how to read it might be helpful. I think reading body language can just help in your everyday life.  The only thing I could really think of where it might not benefit to not being able to read body language would be if you are in an environment where you are really trying to focus or pay attention and someone might distract you if you notice the body language that they are doing. Maybe an inappropriate flirty body language from a coworker, and if you do not notice or read the body language it might not make you feel as uncomfortable.

                                                       

I do think that in the first experiment if we were able to use written language it would have made it allot easier. I could have just simply answered my cousin’s questions by writing it down instead of trying to use hand motions and point to things. I think written language provides a great advantage to the cultures that use it because it helps us learn more, be able to write and understand things. I think having the Alphabet in our culture is very beneficial it is something we learn at such a young age and only grow from it. I think that the written language has had a great impact on globalization because it has helped others learn to understand a different ways of communicating. There has be other forms of written languages in the past and I think that it only keeps improving for others to better understand the written language. I think it has a good impact because we are able to share information with others around the world by writing it down instead of actually having to be right in front of them.  In the past there were pictures painted on caves or walls trying to represent something or tell a story, and know not only do we put pictures in books but we write about the story as well to fully explain what we are trying to say. I think with newspapers around the world it helps for people to read what is happening in other countries and can help them understand what is going on in other societies. 

Zulu/ Andean Indians

ZULU

1. Zululand is a warm sub-tropical climate most of the year. In summer the temperatures are hot from 74-86 degrees. In the winter the average temperature is in the high 60's. Almost all year long besides March/April  it has very hot days, and the humid levels are very high. Summer are usually when there is rain but there can be rain up to all year long, just not in extreme amount of it.

A  physical adaption that the Zulu people have to adapt to is for example the fact that women have to walk long distance to even find water. Women have to carry steel buckets, clay pots, or plastic containers. Most of the women carry the water container with out using there hands and support it on there heads I think this can cause allot of damage in the long run because the amount of water that they are carrying can cause damage to there heads, necks, and backs. With the amount of  walking these women have to do in the humidity and heat can also cause stress on there bodies.

A cultural adaption that the Zulu people had to adapt to is the clothing that is worn. They wear both traditional clothing for ceremonial, or modern westernized clothing for everyday use. Women dress differently depending on whether they are single, married, or engaged. Women who are single might where little to sometimes no clothing on there tops, they might wear short skirts made up of grass, or beaded cotton strings. An engaged woman will let her hair grow longer, she will cover her breasts with a cloth she decorated to show that she is spoken for and is no longer single. A women who is married will cover her body completely to show that she is taken and is not longer single or engaged. The women who were married often had a tough time trying to cool there bodies down due to them wearing cloths covering there whole body, where as single women did not wear much so where able to cool there bodies down faster in harsh weather.

If I was asked to classify the Zulu people in to a specific race I would say African American because of there skin color, and even some features. I even notice some of the clothing being similar in past culture experiences I have read about; about the African culture. 

ANDEAN INDIANS

2.  The Andean Indians civilizations are based on cultures of Ancient Peru. The Inca Empire was the last political group that emerged from the Andean civilization before conquest by the Spaniards.  lived in a varied climate at a high altitude then the Zulu people. The mountain ranges are very high and with high altitude this tends to leave snow on the mountains all year long. The Andean Indians also lived in different climate areas such as deserts, forests, valleys, and plains. Since they lived in a variety of different climate areas the weather and temperature changed but majority of the places it was cooler rather then hotter. The days in the mountains can be warm but at night they weather can drop below freezing.  With a higher latitude the winds can be very strong.

A physical adaption that they have to demonstrate would be trying to grow crops and food under the tough climate change that they live in . The Andean Indians weigh about 60 pounds more then the Zulu people due to needing more oxygen. The lack of oxygen they get can cause a physical problem for there bodies in order for them to grow or develop properly.  They had Lamas to use for transportation. 

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Culture Adaptation. The Andean Indians had to wear clothing that covered them up due to cold condition's that they lived in. They  had to be careful of being frostbitten. The Andean people had potatoes as there main source of food. The potatoes started in the Peruvian Andes and then became the constituted diet of the Incan Empire.  The Andean Indians did not have the knowledge of farming tools, or have working animals, so they had to hand farm everything they wanted to grow and eat.  They used animal droppings as fertilizer and used hillsides to farm on.

For the Andean Indians I would probably say the classification of race I would say Hispanic. I think the color of their skin, and they way they dress. I also think learning in other classes about Indians i would have to say that's what they look like.

I think the most useful approach an Anthropologist should use is looking at the adaptions to the environment. I think that the outward appearance is something that everyone easily judges people on no matter where you are from. I think when I classified the Zulu people as African American it was a judgmental view based on skin color. But there are other aspects to being African American other then the color of your skin. Cultural adaptations is a more accurate way of describing a group of people. I think using outward appearance cant describe everyone in that group that you are talking about because not everyone looks the same.



Sources
http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/people/Zulu.html
http://www.zulu.org.za
http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/aflang/zulu/history.html
http://www.drakensberg-tourism.com/zulu.html
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/102247/Central-American-and-northern-Andean-Indian
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=1398&page=92
<http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Rwanda-to-Syria/Zulu.html>.

Rituals

Ritual, is a word I would use to describe the Nacierma ceremonial aspects. I would use ritual because of the shrines that they make for after the ceremony. The focal point of the shrine is in a box or chest which holds charms, and magical positions. They put the shrines in their houses in there individual rooms which are walled with stone, or pottery plaques on the shrine walls. I think that what they do by every day the member of the family in a succession has to enter the room bow their head, mingle holy water in the font and then proceed with a brief rite of ablution. I think that using the word Ritual has every meaning to this because that is what it is to them a passion and a Ritual that everyone follows, and follows them daily.


Body manipulation is another word I would use to describe how they use to use native esthetics's. They had ritual fasts to make fat people think and ceremonial feasts to make thin people fat. They said that general dissatisfaction with breast shape is symbolized in the fact that ideal form is virtually outside the range of human variation. Women would use there breasts for a way to make money by going village to village letting men see them. I think body manipulation is a good word for this because manipulating the body that it is to fat, or to thin is just something we believe is wrong. Who is suppose to decide who is to fat or to thin?

Trend is another word I would use to describe the trend that they had for their daily body rituals. I think that trends happen all the time which can became a ritual we have because it  is something that everyone does, and or has become something that is practiced by people daily. There daily body ritual was premformed by everyone which includes a mouth-rite. There  ritual involved a practice which strikes the uninitated stranger as revolting. They would insert a small bundle of hog hairs into the mouth, along with certain magical powders, and then moving the bundel in a highly formalized series of gestures. I think that to use that is something few would never do but to them that is something everyone had done which becamse something that everyone needed and wanted to do.

In this reading I read allot about magic and magic powders. So magically is a word that realtes allot to this reading. I think that magic is something few people believe in and or understand. They would seek out a holy mouth man once or twice a year, and in the holes in our teeths where cavities were and or if there were not cavities they would drill out a whole they would put a magically powder that they beleived would arrest decay and it would draw in friends. I think that magic would describe this clearly becuase beleiving that magic in your teeth bringing you friends is not something that people would beleive can just happen.

Mascochist is a word to describe what women and men use to due to get stasfiaction of pain and or abuse. An example of the tendenices were a part of a ceremony where women bake their heads in small ovens for about an hour. Men use to scrape and lacerate the surface of there faces with a sharp instrument. I really did not know another word other then masochistic becuase undergoing the pain that women had to go through to bake there heads for an hour can not be something in my opinion that they would just do if they did not enjoy it.



As I re read my descriptive words  I realize as an American my words were kind of harsh. I think that the words do pertain to the reading, but I think I could have used better words to describe some of the things I was talking about. I think what I wrote was accurate according to the reading, so I think that I did write an appropriate word but maybe it might have been a little bit harsh. Re reading my descriptive words and writing about Nacirema makes me wonder what people would write about us as Americans if someone had a reading for them to read and asked them the same questions. I was very shocked when reading some of the things I did but at the same time I am sure that people from other cultures and countries would be just as shocked to read things Americans do. I definitely think that I exhibited ethnocentrism. I think when reading this I immediately started judging the life they lived and they life I live and it brought confusion to me. I think that some of my words show that I completely judged them. Words I feel that are biased that I used are magical I think I could have used illusion. I did use the more magic because they talked allot about magic powders with assuming that they were thinking they were magical and quickly judging the situation. I think instead of trend I could have used is a movement on what they do. I think a trend is something that people fall in to but I don't think that what they did was because it was a trend but more of the movement they were going through. I do not think using masochist was biased because its true what they did to there bodies was very masochist such as the women putting there heads in ovens for an hour to bake. I think it is very important to describe another culture free from person culture and bias because as I wrote my descriptive words I was always referring back to my own personal life and they way I lived. I did not realize how easy it was to be bias when referring to other cultures, I did not even mean to be bias but realized I was. I do not think it is possible to completely forgot all of your own personal views and avoid cultural bias but I do think that if you are trained the right way and know what you are doing that you  can try and avoid being bias when documenting about other cultures and being a Cultural Anthropologist.


-Krystle Johnston