One way of thinking about culture is to see it as an adaptation to the environment. All living things are biologically adapted to their environments, and all use these adaptations to survive and reproduce. For example, the giraffe's long neck allows it to feed on leaves that other creatures cannot reach; the polar bear's white fur protects it from the cold and allows it to blend into its environment and more easily catch its prey. Human beings are also adapted to the environment in many ways. Our bodies were shaped in the evolutionary process of adaptation.

The necessity for humans to learn a culture is a biologically based aspect of the human brain. All neurologically normal people learn the culture they grow up in, and this culture always functions as an adaptation to their economic, social, political, and physical environment. Just as long necks enable giraffes to get their food and white fur helps polar bears hunt, human culture allows us to survive in specific environments. The adaptive aspects of culture can often be seen in the different ways humans satisfy their basic needs for food, shelter, and safety. Anthropologist James Hamilton found out about the adaptive nature of traditional shelter the hard way when he tried to build a house for himself while doing fieldwork among the Pwo Karen of northwestern Thailand (J. Hamilton, 1987).

To learn about house construction, Hamilton carefully observed the details of building a house. A Karen house is a wooden post structure, raised about 6 feet off the ground, with bamboo walls, a peaked roof, and a veranda. There are no windows; the space between the thatch of the roof and the top of the walls serves for light and ventilation. The kitchen is in the house, with a water storage area on one side of the veranda. This is an important feature of a house because Karen customs of sociability require that visitors and guests be offered water.

Although Hamilton knew a great deal about Karen house construction, when he went to build his own home, he decided to incorporate his own ideas of what a proper house should be. Hamilton's ideas were formed in suburban America of the mid20 th century. And he tried to replicate these in Thailand. First, because the climate was very hot, he insisted that his house be located in a shaded area under some tall trees. The Karen villagers suggested that this was a bad location but failed to dissuade him. Like many Americans, Hamilton also liked his lawn-a wide grassy area in front of his house-and protested when the villagers started pulling up the grass. He said he was not concerned about the snakes and scorpions that might be in the grass; besides, he had a flashlight and boots in case he had to go out at night. In a traditional Karen house, a person cannot stand up straight because the side walls are less than 5 feet high. To accommodate his belief that people ought to be able to stand up in their houses, Hamilton lowered the floor to about 2 feet off the ground. Furthermore, because the Karen house is dark and, to Americans, rather small, Hamilton decided to have his kitchen outside the house. Despite Karen grumbling that this was not the proper way to build a house, he built an extension on one side of the house with a lean-to roof covering made of leaves, and this became his kitchen. Finally, when the Karen started to cut off the long overhanging thatch from the roof, Hamilton asked that they let it remain because it gave him some privacy from eyes peering over the wall, which did not meet the top of the house.

Critical Thinking Questions 1. James Hamilton's experience shows that even though traditional Karen housing ideals did not match U.S. notions of housing, they were well adapted to the Pwo Karen environment. What particular design features of housing are adaptations to the environment where you live?
2. Is housing in the United States generally well adapted to the environment? Consider both modern and older construction. Is modern construction better adapted to the environment than older construction?
3. Because it is a physical object, it is easy to see a house as
an adaptation. But intangible things such as social structure and family type can also be adaptations. For example, the Shoshone Indians lived in the deserts of the American West and supported themselves by hunting animals and gathering plants. They lived in family groups of fewer than 20 people. In what way was living in such small groups an adaptation to their environment?