Pygmy

Pygmy, term used to denote those people whose adult males are on average less than 5 ft (1.52 m) tall. Some Kalahari desert Bushmen are of pygmy size, but the most notable pygmies are the Mbuti, or Bambuti, of the Ituri Forest, Zaïre, who, through their different blood type, skin color, thick lips, and scant body hair but thick head hair, are regarded as distinct from the surrounding peoples and were probably the original inhabitants of the region. A Stone Age people, they are nomadic hunters, living in groups of 50 to 100. Asian pygmies are generally termed Negritos. Peoples rather larger than pygmies are described as pygmoid.