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{{Taxobox
| color = pink
| name = Monkeys
| image = Monkey_batu.jpg
| image_caption = ] (''Macaca fascicularis'')
| regnum = ]ia
| phylum = ]
| classis = ]ia
| ordo = ]s
| subordo = ]
| infraordo = ]
| infraordo_authority = in part
| subdivision_ranks = ]
| subdivision =
]<br/>
]<br/>
]<br/>
]<br/>
]<br/>
| range_map = Monkeysdistributionmap.gif
| range_map_caption = Approximate worldwide distribution of monkeys.
}}
A '''monkey''' is any member of either the ]s or ]s, two of the three groupings of ] ]s, the third group being the ]s. The New World monkeys are classified within the parvorder ], whereas the Old World monkeys (superfamily ]) form part of the parvorder ], which also includes the apes. Thus, scientifically speaking, monkeys do not form a "natural group", in that the Old World monkeys are actually more closely related to the apes than they are to the New World species. There are 264 known extant species of monkey. Because of their similarity to monkeys, apes such as ]s and ]s are often called monkeys in informal usage, though biologists do not consider them to be monkeys. Conversely, due to its size (up to 1 m) the ] is often thought to be an ape, but it is actually an Old World monkey. Also, a few monkey species have the word "ape" in their common name. Because they are ], monkeys do not have any particular traits that they all share and are not shared with the remaining group of simians, the apes.


==Characteristics==
'''Black''' is a ], ], ] or ] classification of '''people'''. Some definitions of the term include only people of relatively recent ]n descent (see ]), while others extend the term to any of the populations characterized by dark skin color, a definition that also includes certain populations in ] and ].<ref>Various isolated populations in Southeast Asia sometimes classified as black include the ]s and ]s, the ] islanders, the ] people of the ], the ] people of ], and some other small populations of indigenous peoples. </ref><ref>black. (n.d.). ''Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)''. Retrieved ], ], from </ref>
] Monkeys range in size from the ], at 14-16 cm (5-6 inch) long (plus tail) and 120-140 g (4-5 oz) in weight, to the male ], almost 1 metre (3 ft) long and weighing 35 kg (75 lb). Some are ] (living in trees), some live on the ]; diets differ among the various species but may contain any of the following: ], ]s, ]s, ]s, ]s, ]s, ]s, ] and small animals.

==The human race==

{{main|Human|Race and genetics}}
In the early twentieth century many scientists held the view that biologically distinct races existed. The races corresponded to the major continental regions of ], ], ] and ]. These races were distinguished from each other based on a few visible traits such as skin color and hair texture. Black people were largely defined by their dark skin and sometimes frizzy hair. The belief at that time was that not only did the races differ in appearance but in behavior, intellect and origins. Some scientists such as ] believed the different races to have evolved separately over millions of years and that racial differences were thus extremely significant.

Today most scholars have abandoned these views and see race as a social construct with no biological basis. Breakthroughs in genetics and the mapping of the ] in the late twentieth century have helped dispel many of the earlier myths about race. At least 99.9% of any one person's ] is exactly the same as any other person's, regardless of ethnicity.<ref>{{cite journal|last = Ho|first = Mae-Wan |authorlink = Mae-Wan Ho|title = The Human Genome Map, the Death of Genetic Determinism and Beyond |journal = ISIS Report|date = 14 February 2001|url=http://www.greens.org/s-r/25/25-19.html|publisher = The Institute of Science in Society}}</ref> Of the 0.1% variation, there is an 8% variation between ethnic groups within a race, such as between the ] and the ]. On average, only 7% of all human genetic variation lies between major human races such as those of Africa, Asia, Europe, and ]. 85% of all genetic variation lies within any local group. The proportion of genetic variation within continental groups (~93%) is therefore far greater than that between the various continental groups (~7%).<ref>{{cite journal|last = Pearce|first = Neil|coauthors = et al|title = Genetics, race, ethnicity, and health|journal = British Medical Journal|volume = 328|pages = 1070-1072|date = 1 May 2004| url =http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/328/7447/1070?etoc|publisher = BMJ Publishing Group Ltd}}</ref> Or to put it another way, "any two individuals within a particular population are about as different genetically as any two people selected from any two populations in the world"<ref>''Genetic Similarities Within and Between Human Populations'' (2007) by D. J. Witherspoon, S. Wooding, A. R. Rogers, E. E. Marchani, W. S. Watkins, M. A. Batzer, and L. B. Jorde*. ''Genetics'' '''176'''(1): 351–359. {{doi|10.1534/genetics.106.067355}}. Retrieved 18 August 2007.</ref>

Because of these facts, there is general agreement among biologists that human racial differences are too small to qualify races as separate ]. However there is still much controversy regarding the significance of these small differences. For example, some scholars argue that even though there is more variation within populations than between them, the small between-population variation may have implications in medical science.<ref>{{cite news| last = Wade| first = Nicholas| title = Race Is Seen as Real Guide to Track Roots of Disease| publisher = New York Times| date = July 30, 2002| url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9C01E0DC1038F933A05754C0A9649C8B63}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| last = Lewontin| first = R.C.| authorlink =Richard Lewontin| title = Confusions About Human Races| url=http://raceandgenomics.ssrc.org/Lewontin/}}</ref>

==Single origin hypothesis==
{{See also|Recent single origin hypothesis}}
] man in ]]]
The low level of genetic variation across populations surprised many in the scientific community. Scientists believe the reason for this low level of variation is because the entire world population of 6.5 billion is descended from a small group of people, probably numbering no more than 2,000, who lived in Africa 70,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite news | last =Whitehouse | first =David | author-link=David Whitehouse| title = When humans faced extinction| publisher = BBC| date = 9 June, 2003| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2975862.stm}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Brush with extinction| publisher =ABC News Online| url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/indepth/featureitems/s876996.htm}}</ref> From this small group, an even smaller group left Africa to populate the rest of the world. The differences in physical appearance between the various peoples of the world is as a result of adaptations to the different environments that the early pioneers who left Africa made in order to conquer the new lands to which they traveled.

The African population retains the great degree of physical variation. Even though all Africans share a skin color that is dark relative to other peoples of the world, they actually differ significantly in physical appearance. Examples include the ], some of the tallest people in the world and the ], the shortest people in the world. Others such as the ] people have an ] similar to the peoples of Central Asia. A recent study found that Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest skin color diversity within population.<ref>
{{cite journal| last = Relethford| first = J.H.| title = Human Skin Color Diversity Is Highest in Sub-Saharan African Population| journal = Human Biology| volume = 72| pages = 773-80|url =http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11126724| date = October 2000}}</ref>

===Dark skin===
{{further|] }}
] son from ] ]]

The evolution of dark skin is tied with the question of loss of body hair.
By 1.2 million years ago, all people having descendants today had exactly the receptor protein of today's Africans; their skin was dark, and the intense sun killed off the progeny with any lighter skin that resulted from mutational variation in the receptor protein.<ref>Rogers, Alan R., David Iltis, and Stephen Wooding. 2004. "Genetic variation at the MC1R locus and the time since loss of human body hair." Current Anthropology 45 (1): 105-108.</ref> This is significantly earlier than the ] of '']'' from '']'' some 250,000 years ago.

Dark skin helps protect against ] that develops as a result of ] radiation, causing mutations in the skin. Furthermore, dark skin prevents an essential B vitamin, ], from being destroyed. Therefore, in the absence of modern medicine and diet, a person with dark skin in the tropics would live longer, be more healthy and more likely to reproduce than a person with light skin. White Australians have some of the highest rates of skin cancer as evidence of this expectation.<ref>{{cite web| title = Australia Struggles with Skin Cancer| url=http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_1_1x_Australia_Struggles_with_Skin_Cancer.asp}}</ref> Conversely, as dark skin prevents sunlight from penetrating the skin it hinders the production of ]. Hence when humans migrated to less sun-intensive regions in the north, low ] levels became a problem and lighter skin colors started appearing. The people of Europe, who have low levels of ], naturally have an almost colorless skin pigmentation, especially when untanned. This low level of pigmentation allows the blood vessels to become visible and gives the characteristic pale pink color of white people. The difference in skin color between black and whites is however a minor genetic difference accounting for just one letter in 3.1 billion letters of DNA.<ref>. '']''.</ref>

==In Africa==
===Sub-Saharan Africa===
]
] is the term used to describe African countries located south of the ]. It is used as a cultural and ecological distinction from ]. Because the indigenous people of this region are primarily dark skinned it is sometimes used as a ] term or ] for "Black Africa".<ref>{{cite journal| first = Lansana | last = Keita| title = Race, Identity and Africanity: A Reply to Eboussi Boulaga| journal = CODESRIA Bulletin, Nos | volume = 1 & 2| pages = 16| date = 2004| publisher = Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa}}</ref> Some criticize the use of the term in defining the part of Africa inhabited by blacks because the Sahara cuts across countries such as ], ], ], ], and ], leaving some parts of them in North Africa and some in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Some argue that the term is a racist ]. ] argues that the term sub-Saharan Africa is a product of European ], saying:

{{quote|Sub-Saharan Africa is a racist byword for "primitive", a place which has escaped advancement. Hence, we see statements like “no written languages exist in Sub-Saharan Africa.” “Ancient Egypt was not a Sub-Saharan African civilization.” Sub-Sahara serves as an exclusion, which moves, jumps and slides around to suit negative generalization of Africa.<ref name=Shahadah/>}}

However, some black Africans prefer to be culturally distinguished from those who live in the north of the continent.<ref>{{cite book| last = Keith B. | first = Richburg| title = Out of America: A Black Man Confronts Africa| publisher = Harvest/HBJ Book| date = Reprint edition (July 1, 1998)| isbn = 0156005832 }}</ref>

====South Africa====
] family with roots in ], ] and ].]]

In ] during the ], the population was classified into four groups: ''Black'', ''White'', '']n'' (mostly ]n), and '']''. <!--These terms are capitalized to denote their legal definitions in South African law.--> The Coloured group included people of mixed ], ], and ]an descent (with some ] ancestry, especially in the ]). The Coloureds occupied an intermediary position between blacks and whites in South Africa.

The ] bureaucracy devised complex (and often arbitrary) criteria in the ] to determine who belonged in which group. Minor officials administered tests to enforce the classifications. When it was unclear from a person's physical appearance whether a person was to be considered Colored or Black, the "pencil test" was employed. This involved inserting a pencil in a person's hair to determine if the hair was kinky enough for the pencil to get stuck.<ref>{{cite news | last = Nullis| first = Clare | title = Township tourism booming in South Africa| publisher = The Associated Press| date = 2007| url = http://www.canada.com/topics/travel/features/story.html?id=59ec6285-c9fb-41ab-93f9-419f62733f07&k=67896}}</ref>

During the apartheid era the coloureds were oppressed and discriminated against. However, they did have limited rights and overall had slightly better socioeconomic conditions than blacks. In the post-apartheid era the government's policies of ] have favored Blacks over Coloureds. Some Black South Africans openly state that Coloureds did not suffer as much as they did during apartheid. The popular saying by Coloured South Africans to illustrate this dilemma is:

{{quote|Not white enough under apartheid and not black enough under the ANC (])}}

Other than by appearance, Coloureds can be distinguished from Blacks by language. Most speak ] or English as a ], as opposed to ] such as ] or ]. They also tend to have more European-sounding names than Bantu names.<ref>{{cite news | last = du Preez| first = Max| title = Coloureds - the most authentic SA citizens| publisher = The Star|date=April 13, 2006| url = http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=3201857}}</ref>

===Ancient Egyptians===
{{main|Race and ancient Egypt (controversies)}}
], depicting (from left): Libyan, Nubian, Asiatic, Egyptian. <ref></ref>]]
There has been controversy over the skin color and ethnic origins of the ].<ref></ref> ] scholars such as ] argue that ] was primarily a "black civilization". One source cited in support of their argument is ], who wrote around 450 B.C. that "Colchians, Ethiopians and Egyptians have thick lips, broad nose, woolly hair and they are burnt of skin."<ref>{{cite web |title=Huge Ancient Egyptian Photo Gallery| url=http://www.freemaninstitute.com/RTGhistory.htm}}</ref>

Ancient Egyptians are often portrayed in modern media as Caucasians, and many blacks, Afrocentrists in particular, have been critical of this.<ref>{{cite web| title = The Identity Of Ancient| url=http://www.calumet.purdue.edu/mcnair/cynthia_research.pdf}}</ref> ] contend that ancient Egypt was a multicultural society of Middle Eastern and African influences.<ref></ref><ref></ref> Based on anthropological and archaeological evidence, the conclusion that black or ] people were present in ancient Egypt since its very inception has been made.<ref>Studies and Comments on Ancient Egyptian Biological Relationships, by S.O.Y. Keita,
History in Africa, 20: 129-154 (1993)</ref><ref>{{cite video| people = ]| title=http://www.lincoln.edu/history/his307/davidson/1/dif3.wmv The Nile]}}</ref>

==In the Middle East==
{{See also|Afro-Arab}}
<!-- Unsourced image removed: ]'s mother was a black woman from Sudan]] -->
Africans and Arabs have interacted since prehistoric times. ] which include the ] such as ] and ] are believed by some scholars to have originated in ]. This is because the region has very diverse language groups in close geographic proximity, often considered a telltale sign for a linguistic geographic origin.

In more recent times, about 1000 CE, interactions between blacks and Arabs resulted in the incorporation of several Arabic words into ], which became a useful '']'' for merchants. Some of this trade was in slaves; the history of ] shows that the ] traditionally accepted the institution of ]<ref name="Lewis">Lewis 1994, </ref>. As a result, Arab influence spread along the east coast of Africa and to some extent into the interior (see ]). ] was a trading outpost that linked ] with ], Arab, and Jewish traders throughout ]. As a result of these interactions many Arab people in the ] have black ancestry and many Africans on the east coast of Africa and along the Sahara have Arab ancestry.<ref></ref>

According to Dr. Carlos Moore, resident scholar at Brazil's ], Afro-multiracials in the Arab world self-identify in ways that resemble ]. Moore recalled that a film about ] ] had to be cancelled when Sadat discovered that an ] had been cast to play him. (In fact, the 1983 television movie ''Sadat'', starring ], was not cancelled; although the ] refused to let the drama air in Egypt, partially on the grounds of the casting of Gossett, the objections did not come from Sadat, who had been assassinated two years earlier.) Sadat considered himself white, according to Moore. Moore claimed that black-looking Arabs, much like black-looking ], consider themselves white because they have some distant white ancestry.<ref>{{cite web| last = Musselman| first = Anson | title = The Subtle Racism of Latin America| publisher = UCLA International Institute| url=http://www.international.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=4125}}</ref> Sadat's mother was a black woman from ] and his father was an Egyptian Arab. He shied away from mentioning her in his autobiography, and when he was president she was almost never seen in public. He may have been ashamed at the way his mother was treated when he was growing up, and consequently he may have been sensitive about his complexion. In response to an advertisement for an acting position he remarked, "I am not white but I am not exactly black either. My blackness is tending to reddish".<ref> pages 5-7,31 ISBN 0714634875</ref>
Some characteristics are shared among the groups; most New World monkeys have ]s while Old World monkeys have non-prehensile tails or no visible tail at all. Some have ]ic ] like that of humans, others are ]s or ]s. Although both the New and Old World monkeys, like the apes, have forward facing eyes, the faces of Old World and New World monkeys look very different, though again, each group shares some features such as the types of noses, cheeks and rumps. In order to understand the monkeys, it is necessary to study the characteristics of the different groups individually.
In general, Arabs had a more positive view of black women than black men, even if the women were of slave origin. More black women were taken across the Sahara to North Africa than men, and, because
the ] was interpreted to permit ] outside of marriage<ref>See ] by ], Vol. 2 pp. 112-113 footnote 44; Also see commentary on verses {{Quran-usc-range|23|1|6}}: Vol. 3, notes 7-1, p. 241; 2000, Islamic Publications</ref><ref>] 4:24</ref>, many ] children resulted. When an enslaved woman became pregnant with her Arab captor's child, she became “umm walad” or “mother of a child”, a status that granted her privileged rights. The child would have prospered from the wealth of the father and been given rights of inheritance.<ref name="Arab Slave Trade">{{cite web|url=http://www.arabslavetrade.com|publisher="]"|title="Slavery in Arabia"|}}</ref> Because of ], the children were born free and sometimes even became successors to their ruling fathers, as was the case with Sultan ], (whose mother was a ] concubine), who ruled ] from 1578-1608. Such tolerance, however, was not extended to wholly black persons, even when technically "free," and the notion that to be black meant to be a slave became a common belief.<ref>{{cite web| last = Hunwick| first = John| title = Arab Views of Black Africans and Slavery| url=http://www.yale.edu/glc/events/race/Hunwick.pdf}}</ref>

===Biblical perspective===
{{further|]}}
According to some historians, the tale in ] in which Noah cursed the descendants of his son Ham with servitude was a seminal moment in defining black people, as the story was passed on through generations of Jewish, Christian and Islamic scholars.<ref>Bernard Lewis, Race and Slavery in the Middle East: An Historical Enquiry, (Oxford University Press, 1982), pp. 28-117</ref> According to columnist Felicia R. Lee, "Ham came to be widely portrayed as black; blackness, servitude and the idea of racial hierarchy became inextricably linked." Some people believe that the tradition of dividing humankind into three major races is partly rooted in tales of Noah's three sons repopulating the Earth after the ] and giving rise to three separate races.<ref>{{cite web| title = The Descendants of Noah| url=http://www.bible-truth.org/GEN10.HTM}}</ref>

The biblical passage, ] 9:20-27, which deals with the ], however, makes no reference to race. The reputed ] is not on ], but on ], one of Ham's sons. This is not a racial but geographic referent. The Canaanites, typically associated with the region of the Levant (Palestine, Lebanon, etc) were later subjugated by the Hebrews when they left bondage in Egypt according to the Biblical narrative.<ref>{{cite book| last = Redford| first = Donald B. | title = Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times| pages = 23-87| publisher = ]| date = 1993| isbn = 0691000867 }}</ref><ref name=Goldenberg>{{cite book| last = Goldenberg| first = David M.| title = The Curse of Ham: Race and Slavery in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam| publisher = ]| date = New Ed edition (July 18, 2005)| isbn = 0691123705 }}</ref> The alleged inferiority of Hamitic descendants also in not supported by the Biblical narrative, nor claims of three races in relation to Noah's sons. Shem for example seems a linguistic not racial referent. In short the Bible does not define blacks, nor assign them to racial hierarchies.<ref name=Goldenberg/>

Historians believe that by the 19th century, the belief that blacks were descended from Ham was used by southern United States whites to justify slavery.<ref name=FRLee>Felicia R. Lee, '''', Racematters.org, November 1, 2003</ref> According to Benjamin Braude, a professor of history at Boston College:

{{quote|in 18th- and 19th century Euro-America, Genesis 9:18-27 became the curse of Ham, a foundation myth for collective degradation, conventionally trotted out as God's reason for condemning generations of dark-skinned peoples from Africa to slavery.<ref name=FRLee/>}}

Author David M. Goldenberg contends that the Bible is not a racist document. According to Goldenberg, such ] interpretations came from post-biblical writers of antiquity like ] and ], who equated blackness with darkness of the soul.<ref>Goldenberg, D. M. (2005) ''The Curse of Ham: Race & Slavery in Early Judaism, Christian'', Princeton University Press</ref>

==In the Americas==
Approximately 12 million Africans were shipped to ] during the ] from 1492 to 1888. Today their descendants number approximately 150 million.<ref>, ''Global Afro-Latino and Caribbean Initiative'', February 4, 2006</ref> Many have a multiracial background of African, Amerindian, European and Asian ancestry. The various regions developed complex social conventions with which their multi-ethnic populations were classified.

===United States===
] (left) and ] (right) at the ] on ], ].]]
{{main|African American}}
{{see also|African Immigration to the United States}}

In the first 200 years that blacks had been in the ], they commonly referred to themselves as Africans. In Africa, people primarily identified themselves by tribe or ethnic group (closely allied to language) and not by skin color. Individuals would be ], ], ] or ]. But when Africans were brought to ] they were forced to give up their tribal affiliations for fear of uprisings. The result was the Africans had to intermingle with other Africans from different tribal groups. This is significant as Africans came from a vast geographic region, the ]n coastline stretching from ] to ] and in some cases from the south east coast such as ]. A new identity and culture was born that incorporated elements of the various tribal groups and of European cultural heritage, resulting in fusions such as the ] and ]. This new identity was now based on skin color and African ancestry rather than any one tribal group.<ref name=Shahadah>{{cite web| last = Shahadah| first = Owen 'Alik| authorlink =Owen 'Alik Shahadah| title =Linguistics for a new African reality| url=http://www.africanholocaust.net/news_ah/language%20new%20reality.htm}}</ref>

In March of 1807, ], which largely controlled the Atlantic, declared ], as did the United States. (The latter prohibition took effect ], 1808, the earliest date on which ] had the power to do so under ] of the ].)

By that time, the majority of blacks were U.S.-born, so use of the term "African" became problematic. Though initially a source of pride, many blacks feared its continued use would be a hindrance to their fight for full citizenship in the US. They also felt that it would give ammunition to those who were advocating repatriating blacks back to Africa. In 1835 Black leaders called upon Black Americans to remove the title of "African" from their institutions and replace it with "Negro" or "Colored American". A few institutions however elected to keep their historical names such as ]. "Negro" and "colored" remained the popular terms until the late 1960s.<ref></ref>

The term ''black'' was used throughout but not frequently as it carried a certain stigma.
In his 1963 "]" speech,<ref>{{cite video|url=http://video.google.com/url?docid=1732754907698549493&esrc=sr1&ev=v&q=I+Have+a+Dream&vidurl=http://video.google.com/videoplay%3Fdocid%3D1732754907698549493%26q%3DI%2BHave%2Ba%2BDream&usg=AL29H20jaXzESJi0-5ByuawvRj8e-fNr-w| people = Martin Luther King, Jr.| title = I Have a Dream| medium = Google Video| location = Washington, D.C.|date=August 28, 1963 }}</ref> ] uses the terms ''Negro'' 15 times and ''black'' 4 times. Each time he uses ''black'' it is in parallel construction with ''white'' (e.g., black men and white men).<ref>{{cite journal| last = Tom W.| first = Smith| title = Changing Racial Labels: From "Colored" to "Negro" to "Black" to "African American"| journal = The Public Opinion Quarterly| volume = 56| pages = 496-514| url=http://www.soc.iastate.edu/soc522a/PDF%20readings/Smith.pdf|date = Winter, 1992| publisher = Oxford University Press.}}</ref> With the successes of the ] a new term was needed to break from the past and help shed the reminders of legalized discrimination. In place of ''Negro'', ''black'' was promoted as standing for racial pride, militancy and power. Some of the turning points included the use of the term "]" by Kwame Toure (]) and the release of James Brown's song "]".

In 1988 ] urged Americans to use the term ] because the term has a historical cultural base. Since then African American and black have essentially a coequal status. There is still much controversy over which term is more appropriate. Some strongly reject the term African American in preference for black citing that they have little connection with Africa. Others believe the term black is inaccurate because African Americans have a variety of skin tones.<ref>{{cite news| last = McWhorter| first = John H.| title = Why I'm Black, Not African American| publisher = Los Angeles Times|date=September 8, 2004| url = http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/_latimes-why_im_black.htm}}</ref> Surveys show that when interacting with each other African Americans prefer the term black, as it is associated with intimacy and familiarity. The term "African American" is preferred for public and formal use.<ref>{{cite book| last = Miller| first = Pepper| coauthors = Herb Kemp| title = What's Black About? Insights to Increase Your Share of a Changing African-American Market| publisher = Paramount Market Publishing, Inc| date = 2006| isbn = 0972529098}}</ref> The appropriateness of this term is further confused, however, by increases in black immigrants from ] the Caribbean and Latin America. The more recent immigrants, may sometimes view themselves, and be viewed, as culturally distinct from native descendants of African slaves .<ref>, New York Times, August 29, 2004.</ref>

The ] says a black is a person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as "Black, African Am., or Negro," or who provide written entries such as African American, Afro American, ], ], or ]. However, the ] notes that these classifications are socio-political constructs and should not be interpreted as scientific or anthropological.<ref></ref>

In the United States ] became the first black head coach to win the ].

====One drop rule====
According to the United States' ] term '']'', a black is any person with any known African ancestry.<ref name=Davis>{{cite web| last = James| first = F. Davis| title = Who is Black? One Nation's Definition| url=http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/jefferson/mixed/onedrop.html| publisher = ]}}</ref> The one drop rule is virtually unique to the United States and was applied almost exclusively to blacks. Outside of the US, definitions of who is black vary from country to country but generally, multiracial people are not required by society to identify themselves as black. The most significant consequence of the one drop rule was that many African Americans who had significant European ancestry, whose appearance was very European, would identify themselves as black.

The one drop rule may have originated as a means of increasing the number of black slaves<ref>], , '']'', ], ].</ref> and been maintained as an attempt to keep the white race pure,<ref> by Frank Sweet</ref> but one of its unintended consequences was uniting the African American community and preserving an African identity.<ref name=Davis/> Some of the most prominent civil rights activists were multiracial but yet stood up for equality for all. It is said that ] could have easily passed for white yet he became the preeminent scholar in Afro-American studies.<ref>{{cite news| last = Nakao| first = Annie| title = Play explores corrosive prejudice within black community| publisher = San Francisco Chronicle| date=January 28 2004| url =http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2004/01/28/DDGL74I9TF1.DTL}}</ref> He chose to spend his final years in Africa and immigrated to ] where he died aged 95. ] and ] both had white fathers,<ref>{{cite web| title = Mixed Historical Figures| url=http://www.mixedfolks.com/historical.htm}}</ref> and ] and ] both had at least one white grandparent. That said, ], or intraracial discrimination based on skin tone, does affect the black community. It is a sensitive issue or a taboo subject. Open discussions are often labeled as "airing dirty laundry".<ref>{{cite web| last = Crawford| first = Larry D.| title = Racism, Colorism and Power| url=http://www.nbufront.org/html/FRONTalView/ArticlesPapers/Crawford_RacismColorismPower.html}}</ref> <ref>{{cite journal| first = Trina | last = Jones| title =Shades of Brown: The Law of Skin Color| journal = Duke Law Journal| volume = 49 | pages = 1487|url=http://www.law.duke.edu/shell/cite.pl?49+Duke+L.+J.+1487| date = October 1972| publisher = ]}}</ref>

Many people in the United States are increasingly rejecting the one drop rule, and are questioning whether even as much as 50% black ancestry should be considered black. Although politician ] self-identifies as black, 55 percent of whites and 61 percent of others classified him as ] instead of black after being told that his mother is white. Blacks were less likely to acknowledge a multiracial category, with 66% labeling Obama as black.<ref>{{cite news| title = Obama and 'one drop of non-white blood'| publisher = BBS News|date=April 13 2007| url = http://bbsnews.net/article.php/20061222014017231}}</ref> However when it came to ], only 42% of African-Americans described him as black, as did only 7% of White Americans.<ref>{{cite web| last = White| first =John Kennet| title =Barack Obama and the Politics of Race| place =Catholic University of America| url=http://www.mindstorminteractive.net/clients/idonline/index.htm}}</ref>

====Blackness====
The concept of ] in the United States has been described as the degree to which one associates themselves with mainstream ] and values. This concept is not so much about skin color or tone but more about culture and behavior. ] may be considered authentically Black by some for his contribution to Black consciousness through film. ] may also be considered authentically black as a global symbol of the Black identity.
]]]
Blackness can be contrasted with ] in which black individuals are said to behave more like mainstream white Americans than fellow blacks. This includes choice in fashion, the way one speaks or listening to stereotypically white music.<ref> Kent State Magazine.</ref>

The notion of blackness can also be extended to non-blacks. ] once described ] as the first black president.<ref></ref> This because of his warm relations with African Americans, his poor upbringing and also because he is a jazz musician. ], of ]n descent, is sometimes mistaken for being black in part because of her association with black music and dance.


==Name==
The question of blackness arose in the early stages of ]'s campaign for the ]. Some have questioned whether Obama, who is commonly described as the first black candidate with a serious chance of winning the presidency, is black enough since his upbringing was unlike that of many African Americans. His father is from ] and he was raised in ] and ]. Polls at the start of the campaign showed ] to be more popular amongst black voters than Obama, which can be ascribed to the influence of Bill Clinton's "Blackness". On the other hand much of Obama's support is derived from white liberals.<ref></ref>
According to the ], the word "monkey" may originate in a ] version of the '']'' fable, published circa 1580. In this version of the fable, a character named Moneke is the son of Martin the Ape. The word Moneke may have been derived from the ] ''monna'', which means "a female ape". The name Moneke likely persisted over time due to the popularity of ''Reynard the Fox''.
<ref></ref><ref> New York Times</ref>


A group of monkeys may be referred to as a ''mission'' or a ''tribe''.
===Race in Brazil===
{{main|Race in Brazil}}
], an Afro-Brazilian ].]]
Unlike in the United States race in Brazil is based on skin color and physical appearance rather than ancestry. A Brazilian child was never automatically identified with the racial type of one or both parents, nor were there only two categories to choose from. Between a pure black and a very light mulatto over a dozen racial categories would be recognized in conformity with the combinations of hair color, hair texture, eye color, and skin color. These types grade into each other like the colors of the spectrum, and no one category stands significantly isolated from the rest. That is, race referred to appearance, not heredity.<ref name="skidmore">{{cite journal| first = Thomas E. | last = Skidmore | title = Fact and Myth: Discovering a Racial Problem in Brazil| journal = Working Paper| volume = 173|url=http://www.nd.edu/~kellogg/publications/workingpapers/WPS/173.pdf| date = April 1992}}</ref>


==Classification==
There is some disagreement among scholars over the effects of social status on racial classifications in Brazil. It is generally believed that upward mobility and education results in reclassification of individuals into lighter skinned categories. The popular claim is that in Brazil poor whites are considered black and wealthy blacks are considered white. Some scholars disagree arguing that whitening of one's social status may be open to people of mixed race, but a typically black person will consistently be identified as black regardless of wealth or social status.<ref name=Telles>{{cite book| last = Edward E. | first = Telles| title = Race in Another America: The Significance of Skin Color in Brazil| pages = 95-98| publisher = ]| date = 2004| isbn =0691118663 }}</ref><ref name=Telles/><ref>{{cite journal| first = Edward E. | last = Telles| title = Racial Ambiguity Among the Brazilian Population| journal = Ethnic and Racial Studies|url=http://www.ccpr.ucla.edu/ccprwpseries/ccpr_012_01.pdf| volume = 25| pages = 415-441| date = 3 May 2002| publisher = California Center for Population Research}}</ref>
]s in Kam Shan Country Park of Hong Kong]]


The following lists shows where the various monkey families (bolded) are placed in the Primate classification. Note that the smallest grouping that contains them all is the ], the simians, which also contains the apes. Calling apes "monkeys" is incorrect. Calling either a simian is correct.
====Statistics====
{{see also|Race and genetics#Admixture in Latin America}}
{| class="wikitable" style="float: right; margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em;"
|+Demographics of Brazil
|-
! Year!! White !! Brown!! Black
|-
| 1835
| 24.4% || 18.2%||51.4%
|-
| 2000
| 53.7% ||38.5%||6.2%
|-
|}
From the year 1500 to 1850 an estimated 3.5 million Africans were forcibly shipped to Brazil.<ref name=Telles/> An estimated 80 million Brazilians, almost half the population, are at least in part descendants of these Africans. Brazil has the largest population of Afro-descendants outside of Africa. In contrast to the US there were no segregation or anti-] laws in Brazil. As a result miscegenation has affected a large majority of the Brazilian population. Even much of the white population has either African or Amerindian blood. According to the last census 54% identified themselves as white, 6.2% identified themselves as black and 39.5% identified themselves as ] (brown)- a broad multiracial category.<ref>{{cite web| title = CIA World Factbook: Brazil| url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/br.html#People}}</ref>


* ORDER ]
A philosophy of whitening emerged in Brazil in the 19th century. Until recently the government did not keep data on race. However statisticians estimate that in 1835 half the population was black, one fifth was Pardo (brown) and one fourth white. By 2000 the black population had fallen to only 6.2% and the Pardo had increased to 40% and white to 55%. Essentially most of the black population was absorbed into the multiracial category by miscegenation.<ref name="skidmore"/>. A recent study found that at least 29% of the middle class white Brazilian population had some recent African ancestry.<ref></ref>
** Suborder ]: non-tarsier prosimians
** Suborder ]: tarsiers, monkeys and apes
*** Infraorder ]
**** Family ]: tarsiers
*** Infraorder ]: simians
**** '''Parvorder ]''': New World monkeys
***** '''Family ]''': marmosets, tamarins, capuchins and squirrel monkeys (56 species)
***** '''Family ]''': night monkeys, owl monkeys, douroucoulis (8 species)
***** '''Family ]''': titis, sakis and uakaris (41 species)
***** '''Family ]''': howler, spider and woolly monkeys (24 species)
**** Parvorder ]
***** '''Superfamily ]'''
****** '''Family ]''': Old World monkeys (135 species)
***** Superfamily ]: apes
****** Family ]: gibbons ("lesser apes") (13 species)
****** Family ]: great apes including humans (7 species)


====Race relations==== ==Monkeys in captivity==
Because of the ideology of miscegenation, Brazil has avoided the polarization of Society into black and white. The bitter and sometimes violent racial tensions that divide the US are notably absent in Brazil.
However the philosophy of the racial democracy in Brazil has drawn criticism from some quarters. Brazil has one of the largest gaps in income distribution in the world. The richest 10% of the population earn 28 times the average income of the bottom 40%. The richest 10 percent is almost exclusively white. One-third of the population lives under the poverty line of which blacks and other non-whites account for 70 percent of the poor.<ref>{{cite web| last = Barrolle| first = Melvin Kadiri| title = African 'Americans' in Brazil| publisher =New America Media| url=http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=5b8d531de860940110af2433244782c6}}</ref>


===As service animals for the disabled===
In the US blacks earn 75% of what whites earn, in Brazil non-whites earn less than 50% of what whites earn. Some have posited that Brazil does in fact practice the one drop rule when social economic factors are considered. This because the gap income between blacks and other non-whites is relatively small compared with the large gap between whites and non-whites. Other factors such as illiteracy and education level show the same patterns.<ref>{{cite web| last = Roland| first = Edna Maria Santos| title = The Economics of Racism: People of African Descent in Brazil| url=http://www.falapreta.org.br/durban/racism.doc}}</ref>
Some organizations such as have been training ]s to assist quadriplegics and other people with severe spinal cord injuries or mobility impairments. After being socialized in a human home as infants, the monkeys undergo extensive training before being placed with a quadriplegic. Around the house, the monkeys help out by doing tasks including microwaving food, washing the quadriplegic's face, and opening drink bottles.
Unlike in the US where African Americans were united in the civil rights struggle, in Brazil the philosophy of whitening has helped divide blacks from other non-whites and prevented a more active civil rights movement.


===Monkeys in science===
Though Afro-Brazilians make up half the population there are very few black politicians. The city of ] for instance is 80% Afro-Brazilian but has never had a black mayor. Critics indicate that in US cities like ] and ] that have a black majority, have never had white mayors since first electing black mayors in the 1970s.<ref>Charles Whitaker, "," '']'', February 1991</ref>
====In laboratories====
]


]s, especially the ], and African ]s are widely used in ] facilities. This is primarily because of their relative ease of handling, their fast reproductive cycle (compared to apes) and their psychological and physical similarity to ]. In the ], around 50,000 non-human ], most of them monkeys, have been used in experiments every year since 1973;{{PDF||136&nbsp;]<!-- application/pdf, 140141 bytes -->}} 10,000 monkeys were used in the ] in 2004.
Non-white people also have limited media visibility. The Latin American media, in particular the Brazilian media, has been accused of hiding its black and indigenous population. For example the ] or ] are said to be a hotbed of white, largely blonde and blue/green-eyed actors who resemble ]ns or other northern Europeans more than they resemble the typical whites of Brazil, who are mostly of ] descent. <ref></ref><ref>
</ref> <ref></ref>


The use of monkeys in laboratories is controversial. Some claim that it is cruel and produces little information of value, and there have been many protests, vandalism to testing facilities, and threats to workers. Others claim that it has led to many important medical breakthroughs such as the rabies vaccine, understanding of human reproduction and basic knowledge about brain function, and that the prevention of harm to humans should be a higher priority than the cruelty imposed on monkeys. The topic has become a popular cause for ] groups.
These patterns of discrimination against non-whites have led some to advocate for the use of the Portuguese term 'negro' to encompass non-whites so as to renew a black consciousness and identity, in effect an African descent rule.<ref>, ''Los Angeles Times'', September 3, 2006</ref>


The use of all animals in research in most countries (certainly the United States) is controlled rigorously by Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (]). In monkey research the standards for surgery and post surgical care are as strict as those for humans.
==In Asia and Australasia==
</ref>]]
There are several groups of dark-skinned people who live in various parts of ], ] and the ]. They include the ], the ] (now divided into ]s and ]s, and including the great genetic diversity of ]), the ] people of the ] of ], the ] people of the ], the ] people of ], and various indigenous peoples sometimes collectively known as ] (a term some consider ]).


====In space====
By their external physical appearance (]) such people resemble Africans with dark skin and sometimes tightly coiled hair. Genetically they are distant from Africans and are more closely related to the surrounding Asian populations in the same way that Africans are more closely linked genetically to Europeans despite differences in skin colour.<ref>{{cite journal| first = Kumarasamy | last = Thangaraj| coauthors = et al| title = Genetic Affinities of the Andaman Islanders, a Vanishing Human Population|url=http://hpgl.stanford.edu/publications/CB_2002_p1-18.pdf| journal =Current Biology | volume = 13, Number 2| pages = 86-93(8)| date = 21 January 2003}}</ref>
A number of countries have used monkeys as part of their space exploration programmes, including the United States and France. The first ] was Albert II who flew in the US-launched ] in ], ].


===As food===
The Dutch colonial officials considered the ] to be "Indians" or "blacks", based on their prior colonial experience in what is now ].
There are a lot of myths about Chinese habits which are mostly contrived, such as the stories about eating monkeys brains.<ref>http://environment.guardian.co.uk/food/story/0,,1848330,00.html</ref>
Scientists from the University of Nottingham speculate that humans caught ] after hunting and eating the infected chimps.<ref>http://www.thenazareneway.com/aids_came_from_monkeys.htm</ref>
In traditional ], monkeys are ] to be eaten.


==Monkeys in culture==
The ] refers to a period of conflict between the ] colonists and ]s in ] (now ]) in the early years of the 1800s.
] shrine in ].]]
] Lima, Peru.]]
<!-- There are innumerable monkeys in pop culture. Let's not start a laundry list here.-->


===Literature===
The Australian ] was designed by ], an artist and an Aboriginal, in 1971. The flag was designed to be an eye-catching rallying symbol for the Aboriginal people and a symbol of their race and identity. The black represents the Aboriginal people, the red the earth and their spiritual relationship to the land, and the yellow the sun, the giver of life.
] (the "Monkey King"), a character who figures prominently in ], is the main protagonist in the classic comic Chinese novel '']''.


Monkeys are prevalent in numerous books, television programs, and movies. The ] ], the literary characters ] and ] are all examples.
==In Europe==
===Prehistory===
{{Fact|date=September 2007}}
The first ] to populate Europe came from Africa, probably via ] 40,000 years ago. Consequently many scientists speculate that upon arrival in Europe they may have still been dark skinned. The lighter skin colors of today's European population appears to be a more recent adaptation.


However, pop culture often incorrectly labels apes, particularly chimpanzees, gibbons, and gorillas, as monkeys. ] makes use of the distinction in his '']'' novels, in which the ] of the ] is an ] who gets very violent if referred to as a monkey.
===Modern populations===
''See also: ]''


===Religion and Worship===
For many centuries throughout the ] and the ], black people came from the colonies to the "mother country", either voluntarily (sometimes for education) or under duress (sometimes as slaves). Even prior to that, the ] brought large numbers of Africans to the furthest reaches of Europe; for example, ] took as a protégé ], whose descendants number poet ] and ], ] to ]<ref> </ref>. Most of the black people living in ], however, have their origins in relatively recent waves of immigration. Since the decolonisation of the mid-twentieth century, substantial black populations have moved to certain countries in Europe; other European countries have very few black people.
] ]]
The low birth rate prevalent in many European countries has been an important factor in encouraging many immigrants from outside the continent to help support the economies of aging populations<ref></ref>. Consequently, the black population of European countries is expected to increase{{Fact|date=September 2007}}. However, at present, black people have limited visibility in mainstream European society, except in a handful of roles such as sporting activities.


], a prominent divine entity in ], is a monkey-like humanoid.
===Britain===
]]]
''See also: ] and ]''


The ] people of ancient ] worshipped nature.<ref> Benson, Elizabeth, The Mochica: A Culture of Peru. New York, NY: Praeger Press. 1972</ref> They placed emphasis on animals and often depicted monkeys in their art. <ref>Berrin, Katherine & Larco Museum. ''The Spirit of Ancient Peru:Treasures from the ].'' New York: ], 1997.</ref>
] encouraged workers from the ] after ]; the first symbolic movement was those who came on the ship the '']''. The Afro-Caribbean population of ] is substantial, and in the past ten years or so has been matched by direct migration from Africa, particularly ]. The preferred official ] is "black and minority ethnic" (BME), but sometimes the term "black" is used on its own, to express opposition to racism, as in the ], which started with a mainly ] constituency. Black Britons tend to live in the cities, whereas the white population is moving more to suburbs and the countryside.


===Eastern Europe===
As African states ] in the 1960s, the ] offered them the chance to study in Russia; over 40 years, 400,000 African students came, and many settled there.<ref></ref><ref></ref> This extended beyond the Soviet Union to many countries of the ].


===Russia=== ===Zodiac===
The ] is the ninth in the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the ] related to the ]. The next time that the monkey will appear as the zodiac sign will be in the year 2016.
An example of the somewhat arbitrary nature of cultural classification of people as "black" exists in ]. Certain groups of people who are ethnically different, and generally darker, than ethnic ] are pejoratively referred to as "blacks" (''chernye''), and face specific sorts of ] (see ]). ], ], and ]s fall into this category.<ref> ''The Unmaking of Soviet Life: Everyday Economies After Socialism'' By Caroline Humphrey ] 2002 p36-37 </ref> Those referred to as "black" are from the ], predominantly ], e.g. ].<ref>http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/63/333.html Lisa Taylor, Emergency—Explosion of State and Popular Racism follows Moscow Blasts, International Solidarity with Workers in Russia (ISWoR), 13 September 1999.</ref> (Although "Caucasian" is used in ] to mean "]", in ] -- and ] -- it only refers to the ], not ] in general.)


==Footnotes== ==References==
<References/>
{{reflist|2}}


==See also== ==External links==
{{commons|Black people}} {{commons}}
*, by Viktor Reinhardt, International Primate Protection League, August 2001
* ]
* at ], shot undercover by the ]
* ]
*, an article by veterinarian Lianne McLeod on About.com
* ]
*, a U.S. U.S. national non-profit organization based in Boston Massachusetts that places specially trained capuchin monkeys with people who are paralyzed or who live with other severe mobility impairments
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Revision as of 21:27, 19 September 2007

For other uses, see Black people (disambiguation).

Monkeys
Crab-eating Macaque (Macaca fascicularis)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorrhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
in part
Families

Cebidae
Aotidae
Pitheciidae
Atelidae
Cercopithecidae

Approximate worldwide distribution of monkeys.

A monkey is any member of either the New World monkeys or Old World monkeys, two of the three groupings of simian primates, the third group being the apes. The New World monkeys are classified within the parvorder Platyrrhini, whereas the Old World monkeys (superfamily Cercopithecoidea) form part of the parvorder Catarrhini, which also includes the apes. Thus, scientifically speaking, monkeys do not form a "natural group", in that the Old World monkeys are actually more closely related to the apes than they are to the New World species. There are 264 known extant species of monkey. Because of their similarity to monkeys, apes such as chimpanzees and gibbons are often called monkeys in informal usage, though biologists do not consider them to be monkeys. Conversely, due to its size (up to 1 m) the Mandrill is often thought to be an ape, but it is actually an Old World monkey. Also, a few monkey species have the word "ape" in their common name. Because they are not a single coherent group, monkeys do not have any particular traits that they all share and are not shared with the remaining group of simians, the apes.

Characteristics

Monkeys, Mori Sosen (1749-1821)

Monkeys range in size from the Pygmy Marmoset, at 14-16 cm (5-6 inch) long (plus tail) and 120-140 g (4-5 oz) in weight, to the male Mandrill, almost 1 metre (3 ft) long and weighing 35 kg (75 lb). Some are arboreal (living in trees), some live on the savannah; diets differ among the various species but may contain any of the following: fruit, leaves, seeds, nuts, flowers, insects, spiders, eggs and small animals.

Some characteristics are shared among the groups; most New World monkeys have prehensile tails while Old World monkeys have non-prehensile tails or no visible tail at all. Some have trichromatic colour vision like that of humans, others are dichromats or monochromats. Although both the New and Old World monkeys, like the apes, have forward facing eyes, the faces of Old World and New World monkeys look very different, though again, each group shares some features such as the types of noses, cheeks and rumps. In order to understand the monkeys, it is necessary to study the characteristics of the different groups individually.

Name

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word "monkey" may originate in a German version of the Big Virgina fable, published circa 1580. In this version of the fable, a character named Moneke is the son of Martin the Ape. The word Moneke may have been derived from the Italian monna, which means "a female ape". The name Moneke likely persisted over time due to the popularity of Reynard the Fox.

A group of monkeys may be referred to as a mission or a tribe.

Classification

Macaques in Kam Shan Country Park of Hong Kong

The following lists shows where the various monkey families (bolded) are placed in the Primate classification. Note that the smallest grouping that contains them all is the Simiiformes, the simians, which also contains the apes. Calling apes "monkeys" is incorrect. Calling either a simian is correct.

Monkeys in captivity

As service animals for the disabled

Some organizations such as Helping Hands have been training capuchin monkeys to assist quadriplegics and other people with severe spinal cord injuries or mobility impairments. After being socialized in a human home as infants, the monkeys undergo extensive training before being placed with a quadriplegic. Around the house, the monkeys help out by doing tasks including microwaving food, washing the quadriplegic's face, and opening drink bottles.

Monkeys in science

In laboratories

A macaque sits in a cage in a German laboratory.

Macaques, especially the Rhesus Macaque, and African green monkeys are widely used in animal testing facilities. This is primarily because of their relative ease of handling, their fast reproductive cycle (compared to apes) and their psychological and physical similarity to humans. In the United States, around 50,000 non-human primates, most of them monkeys, have been used in experiments every year since 1973;Template:PDF 10,000 monkeys were used in the European Union in 2004.

The use of monkeys in laboratories is controversial. Some claim that it is cruel and produces little information of value, and there have been many protests, vandalism to testing facilities, and threats to workers. Others claim that it has led to many important medical breakthroughs such as the rabies vaccine, understanding of human reproduction and basic knowledge about brain function, and that the prevention of harm to humans should be a higher priority than the cruelty imposed on monkeys. The topic has become a popular cause for animal rights groups.

The use of all animals in research in most countries (certainly the United States) is controlled rigorously by Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUC). In monkey research the standards for surgery and post surgical care are as strict as those for humans.

In space

A number of countries have used monkeys as part of their space exploration programmes, including the United States and France. The first monkey in space was Albert II who flew in the US-launched V2 rocket in June 14, 1949.

As food

There are a lot of myths about Chinese habits which are mostly contrived, such as the stories about eating monkeys brains.

Scientists from the University of Nottingham speculate that humans caught HIV after hunting and eating the infected chimps.

In traditional Islamic dietary laws, monkeys are forbidden to be eaten.

Monkeys in culture

Simian statue at a Buddhist shrine in Tokyo, Japan.
Moche Monkey. Larco Museum Collection Lima, Peru.

Literature

Sun Wukong (the "Monkey King"), a character who figures prominently in Chinese mythology, is the main protagonist in the classic comic Chinese novel Journey to the West.

Monkeys are prevalent in numerous books, television programs, and movies. The television series Monkey, the literary characters Monsieur Eek and Curious George are all examples.

However, pop culture often incorrectly labels apes, particularly chimpanzees, gibbons, and gorillas, as monkeys. Terry Pratchett makes use of the distinction in his Discworld novels, in which the Librarian of the Unseen University is an orangutan who gets very violent if referred to as a monkey.

Religion and Worship

Hanuman, a prominent divine entity in Hinduism, is a monkey-like humanoid.

The Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped nature. They placed emphasis on animals and often depicted monkeys in their art.


Zodiac

The Monkey is the ninth in the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. The next time that the monkey will appear as the zodiac sign will be in the year 2016.

References

  1. http://environment.guardian.co.uk/food/story/0,,1848330,00.html
  2. http://www.thenazareneway.com/aids_came_from_monkeys.htm
  3. Benson, Elizabeth, The Mochica: A Culture of Peru. New York, NY: Praeger Press. 1972
  4. Berrin, Katherine & Larco Museum. The Spirit of Ancient Peru:Treasures from the Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1997.

External links

Category: