Pygmy peoples
Pygmy peoples
Although the term is sometimes considered derogatory because it focuses on a physical trait, it remains the primary term associated with the African Pygmies, the hunter-gatherers of the Congo Basin (comprising the Bambenga, Bambuti and Batwa). The terms "Asiatic pygmies" and "Oceanic pygmies" have also been used to describe the Negrito populations of Southeast Asia and Australo-Melanesian peoples of short stature. The Taron people of Myanmar are an exceptional case of a pygmy population of East Asian phenotype.
Etymology
!A family from a [Ba Aka pygmy village](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/DRCongopygmyfamily.jpg/250px-DRCongopygmyfamily.jpg)
Etymology
The term pygmy, as used to refer to diminutive people, comes via Latin pygmaeus from Greek πυγμαῖος pygmaîos, derived from πυγμή pygmḗ, meaning "short cubit", or a measure of length corresponding to the distance from the elbow to the first knuckle of the middle finger, meant to express pygmies' diminutive stature.
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