Architecture of Pastoral Communities: Evidence for Cultural Convergence?

The architecture of two geographically isolated, pastoral communities was compared to illustrate how unrelated societies with similar lifestyles can exhibit architectural convergence. The Himba, a semi nomadic tribe in northwestern Namibia, and the Navajo, a Native American tribe located in northern...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Smyth, Wesley Stephen
Other Authors: Wilson, Tom
Language:en
Published: The University of Arizona. 2013
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10150/297781
Description
Summary:The architecture of two geographically isolated, pastoral communities was compared to illustrate how unrelated societies with similar lifestyles can exhibit architectural convergence. The Himba, a semi nomadic tribe in northwestern Namibia, and the Navajo, a Native American tribe located in northern Arizona, were the groups I selected due to their comparable cultures, climate, and lifestyle. Photographs of village structures as well as the overall village layouts were used to make comments on the architectural similarities. The results reveal remarkable village associations, specifically the uniformity regarding the orientation of the livestock enclosures and important huts. The development of similar cultural and architectural adaptations by different communities in response to similar environmental conditions implicates the influence of cultural convergent evolution (Haviland 2010).