Adaptations To Climate
Despite the extreme cold climate in which they lived, early Yahgan wore little to no clothing until their contact with Europeans. They were able to survive the harsh climate because:
1) They kept warm by huddling around small fires when they could, including in their boats to stay warm. In fact, the name of "Tierra del Fuego" (land of fire) is a name given to the island cluster by passing European explorers who witnessed these fires burning.
2) They made use of rock formations to shelter themselves from the elements.
3) They covered themselves in animal grease.
4) Over time they had evolved significantly higher metabolisms than average humans, allowing them to generate more internal body heat.
5) Their natural resting position was a deep squatting position, which reduced their surface area and so helped to conserve heat.
Read more about this topic: Yaghan People
Famous quotes containing the word climate:
“The question of place and climate is most closely related to the question of nutrition. Nobody is free to live everywhere; and whoever has to solve great problems that challenge all his strength actually has a very restricted choice in this matter. The influence of climate on our metabolism, its retardation, its acceleration, goes so far that a mistaken choice of place and climate can not only estrange a man from his task but can actually keep it from him: he never gets to see it.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)