Pygmy family posing with European man for scale. Pygmy derives from Greek pygmaios, a term for dwarf from Greek mythology. There are hypotheses to explain the short stature such as lesser availability of protein-rich food sources or lower average levels of ultraviolet light. 1921. [1467×960]

In contemporary times, in 2003, a representative of Mbuti pygmies told the UN’s Indigenous People’s Forum that during the Congo Civil War, his people were hunted down and eaten as though they were game animals. Both sides of the war regarded them as subhumans and some even said their flesh can confer magical powers.