ANTH Final Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

ANTH Final Paper - Essay Example â€Å"Men average 152 centimeters (5 feet) in height and women 141 centimeters (4.5 feet). They are frequently referred to as pygmies, a term more correctly used for the central African Pygmy populations.† (Early & Headland, 1998, p.3-4) They have traditionally been known as aboriginal inhabitants of the Philippine rain forest. For centuries they have been largely and hunter/gather culture using bows and arrows to hunt large game. Over the past hundred years they have interacted more with the Philippine civilization, especially the lowlanders and have worked as casual farm laborers as well. Many of Southeast Asias Negrito populations are quickly disappearing. There number have decreased dramatically in just over the past ten years and continue to decline. In fact, several Negrito populations in the Andaman Islands have disappeared completely in the past one hundred years. â€Å"The 10 Negrito dialect groups in peninsular Malaysia number only 1,800 today, far fewer than in the last century. The Negrito groups in Thailand have declined to only 300 people.† (Early & Headland, 1998, p.3-4) Ecology: Luzon has the largest number of Negritos, who reside in the mountains of Zambales, Bataan, Western Pampanga, Western Tarlac, Southwestern Pangasinan, and in the Sierra Madre range, which rims the eastern side of Luzon. The Negritos of the Sierra Madre refer to themselves and their language by the term Agta. The larger Philippine population usually refer to them as "Dumagats.† The Agta have a population of around 9,000 and they are divided into 10 ethnolinguistic groups. The Agta themselves distinguish two types of groups within their communities. The first group resides in the mountains quite a distance from both the coastline and the towns. This population relies more on hunting and gathering and have very little contact with the Filipino lowland farmers. The second group lives much closer to farming settlements and interacts on a