Bedouins' Adaptation to the Life in the Arabian Desert - Research Paper Example

 Bedouins Adaptation to Their Environment Different living things engage in different activities in order to live in their environment, which is essential for their survival. In this regard, living things succeed in sweltering and cold environmental conditions in a different number of ways, which is the process of adaptation. Case in point, camels, and other large tropical mammals, are able to live in extremely hot conditions and tolerate dehydration. In this case, these animals endure a lot of heat during the day, which they release during the extremely cold nights. On the other hand, the ability of women to live under hot conditions varies differently from the men. Nevertheless, human beings adapt overtime due to their inventiveness and communities effectively learn how to live under extreme weather conditions. One such community is the Bedouin community found in parts of the Middle East, the Sinai Peninsula, and in North Africa, which are regions in the Arabian Desert. Hence, this expose elucidates on ways that the Bedouins have adapted to their environment and compares them with another nomadic community known as the Mongols, which is a semi-nomadic community living in the Gobi Desert in the eastern part of Asia. McCance noted that, the Bedouins faced “great extremes of heat and cold and not so long ago cultivated no crops, and hence had great difficulty in obtaining enough food for themselves” (263). In this regard, the community’s environment is one of the toughest for human beings. In this case, the body working to regulate itself in order to cope with hot environmental conditions at one instance and then cope with cold conditions in another instance is a challenge. Besides, the community evidently cultivates crops in the past and lived on their animals since it is a challenge to find wild food in the desert. Therefore, it was only crucial for the community to adapt to their environment through using means that humankind uses while adapting to their environments. In order to survive in the desert, the Bedouin community needs to employ important tactics that will help them survive in the desert. Thesiger noted that the Bedouins have “phenomenal powers of endurance in the desert on minimal intakes of food and water” (qtd. in McCance et al. 264). In this regard, such ability by the Bedouins enables them survive in the worst weather conditions by rationing their food and water intakes. In effect, the amount of water and food in their supply goes a long way to help the Bedouins survive. On the other hand, a majority of human beings cannot survive in such an environment under low rations of food and water. A study conducted by McCance et al. found out that the Bedouins produced less sweat in comparison to people living in fair climatic conditions (269). In this regard, this adaptation is important in extremely hot conditions since individuals will be able to lose less water from their body systems. In effect, these individuals will not be dehydrated and will survive in hot conditions better than other individuals will. In addition, less sweating enables individuals to use little water and consume less food regardless of the heat in the individual’s environment. Thus, less consumption of water helps the Bedouins conserve their water reserves while using the little water available to them. According to Thesiger, the Bedouins wear “long flowing woolen garments, either light or dark in color to help to protect them from the cold at night as much as the solar radiations by day” (qtd. in McCance et al. 264). These garments are from wool from animals that the Bedouins reared. These animals include sheep, which produces wool to make these garments. In this regard, the white woolen garments are important during the day in the strong sun since the garments will not absorb a lot of heat during the day. As such, the body will not experience high temperatures since the white garments have a cooling effect. On the other hand, the black garments the Bedouins wear at night are important to absorb any heat during the cold nights and keep the Bedouins warm. As a result, individuals will not lose a lot of heat, which is important during cold nights in the desert. McCance et al. found out that camels to the Bedouin community serve various purposes (264). One such purpose of camels amongst the Bedouins is to provide milk, which forms the main part of their diet. It is common knowledge of the benefits that human being can accumulate from drinking milk. In this regard, camel milk offers the Bedouin a nutritious diet, which is important since they are predominantly nomadic pastoralists. In addition, milk is essential since it helps keep the human body hydrated instead of using water, which is important for the Bedouin considering that they live in the desert. On the other hand, milk consumption helps cool the body of an individual and maintain an important level of body fluids. Furthermore, consumption of milk helps refill the body fluids lost. Considering that the Bedouins walk a long distance in such of pasture in the desert heat, milk plays a crucial role and helps them adopt in the hot desert climate. Since the Bedouin community is primarily a nomadic community, the Bedouins move from one place to another in search of pasture for their animals. As a result, the Bedouins do not construct permanent structures since they move from a place once there is nothing more left to feed their animals. Nevertheless, the structures that the Bedouin community constructs have to be structures that can withstand the desert weather. In effect, the Bedouins use the hair from the camel and weave it to form rugs and tent clothes. In effect, these rugs and woven tents provide shelter to the Bedouins from the windy desert conditions and offer warmth from the cold nights. On the other hand, the rolled up sides of the tents provide a cool breeze to the occupants while also providing shade to them (“Humans Adapt” 222). On the other hand, the Mongols are a semi-nomadic community living in the Gobi Desert in the eastern part of Asia, which has its temperatures reaching 45 degrees during the summer and the temperatures reach negative forty degrees during the winter (“Humans Adapt” 223). In effect, the Mongols have to adapt to their environment in order to survive the harsh climatic conditions. According to Worden and Savada, “Almost every aspect of Mongolian society has been shaped by pastoral nomadism, an ecological adaptation that makes it possible to support more people in the Mongolian environment than would be true under any other mode of subsistence.” In effect, this underlines the success that the Mongols have had in adapting to their environment. The Mongols are predominantly a nomadic community like the Bedouins, but a little agriculture in available oasis supplements the pastoral life amongst the Mongols (Worden and Savada; McCance 264). In this case, the Mongols can live in one place for a longer time unlike the Bedouins who “rarely stay in one place longer than a week” (Humans Adapt” 222). In effect, the nomadic community should have mobility skills, which are important for search of the resources necessary to sustain their lives and the lives of their animals. In effect, the Mongols have developed explicit nomadic ethos essentially enabling them to move away from threats. Conversely, these attributes enable the Mongols to move towards resources, which are necessary for their survival and the survival of their animals. Worden and Savada noted that the “Mongols traditionally have consumed more milk products than meat; animals are slaughtered in seasons other than fall only for ceremonial occasions or for obligatory hospitality to guests.” In effect, milk keeps their bodies hydrated for a long period especially in instances where there is less water for consumption. This is similar to the Bedouin community who consumed more milk than meet unless during notable occasions (McCane 263). However, Mongols use milk to make butter and cheese, which is not the case for the Bedouins. In this case, the Mongols seem more advanced in comparison to the Bedouins. In conclusion, it is evident that the brain of a human being is crucial in order for them to be innovative and find ways of survival in a hardship environment. In effect, people will use various ways and adapt to these environments. In this regard, various nomadic communities such as the Bedouins and the Mongols have found ways of fitting into their respective environments with desert conditions characterizing their environments. The Bedouins and Mongols consume milk from their animals, which is important in maintaining body fluids after respiration due to the hot weather. On the other hand, the fact that these two communities predominantly live nomadic lives ensures that they have strong nomadic ethos. Thus, the two communities are highly mobile, which ensures their survival as they escape from threats or move towards pastures for their livestock. Works Cited “Humans Adapt To The Desert.” Homepage.mac.com. 2011. Web. 2 Apr. 2012. . McCance, Robert et al. Have the Bedouin a Special 'Desert' Physiology? Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences , 185.1079 (1974): 263-271. Web. 2 Apr. 2012. . Worden, Robert L., and Andrea Matles Savada, eds. Mongolia:  A Country Study. U.S. Library of Congress. 1989. Web. 2 Apr. 2012. . Read More