Culture and the Environment on Easter Island and Tikopia Essay examples

In his book Human Natures Genes, Culture and the Human facet , Paul Ehrlich argues that the cultural practices of a habituated society develop for the most part as a result of the large environmental factors of the area in which the society lives. He gives the striking example that all religions that developed in deserts are monotheistic, whereas those that began in rainforests are polytheistic (Ehrlich, pp 9 of handout, 2000). Ehrlich argues that the surface and geography of a region, its climate, the availability of resources - the macroevolutionary forces - will bring an enormous make on the cultures that develop there.Ehrlich continues by pointing out that cultures do not single develop as simple, predictable reflections of their environments. The influences do not only line in ane direction cultural beliefs and practices may lead to large-scale environmental changes made by a society. The culture of a given society may influence how and to what extent that society inte racts with its environment. The rate at which cultures acquire new technologies has historically been highly variable on the one hand, a culture may deliberately restrict the use of a given technology or simply may not have the cultural demand for an available technology (1) . On the other hand, galore(postnominal) cultures seem to have desires and appetites that far exceed a sustainable method acting of utilizing their environment. All too often, the practices of a society over-strain its existing resources in ship canal that leave those resources irretrievably damaged.A telling example of the complex interactions in the midst of a culture and its surroundings is the relative fates of two Pacific islands east wind Island and Tikopia. Although it would be impossible to pin-point a simple cause-an... ...because they had received early recover and were able to protect themselves in caves. However, their water supply was affected, threatening their harvesting supply. These storms have historically hit the island with terrible frequency. In one character in the 1950s, 200 islanders were killed by a famine in the import by a storm. (ABC News Online, January 4, 2003)Literature CitedEhrlich, Paul. Human Natures Genes, Culture, and the Human Prospect. Island Press, 2000.Firth, Raymond. recital and Traditions of Tikopia. New Zealand Avery Press Limited. 1961.Kirch, Patrick Vinton and Yen, D.E. Tikopia The Prehistory and Ecology of a Polynesian Outlier. how-do-you-do Bishop Museum Press. 1982Ponting, Clive. A Green History of the World. New York St. Martins Press. 1991.Ross, Marc Howard. The Management of Conflict. New haven Yale University Press. 1993.