Hamites is the name formerly used for some Northern and Horn of Africa peoples in the context of a now-outdated model of dividing humanity into different races; this was developed originally by Europeans in support of colonialism and slavery.[1][2][3][4] The term was originally borrowed from the Book of Genesis, in which it refers to the descendants of Ham, son of Noah.
The term was originally used in contrast to the other two proposed divisions of mankind based on the story of Noah: Semites and Japhetites. The appellation Hamitic was applied to the Berber, Cushitic, and Egyptian branches of the Afroasiatic language family, which, together with the Semitic branch, was formerly labelled "Hamito-Semitic".[5] Because the three Hamitic branches have not been shown to form an exclusive (monophyletic) phylogenetic unit of their own, separate from other Afroasiatic languages, linguists no longer use the term in this sense. Each of these branches is instead now regarded as an independent subgroup of the larger Afroasiatic family.[6]
Beginning in the late 19th century, scholars generally classified the Hamitic race as a subgroup of the Caucasian race, alongside the Aryan race and the Semitic[7][8] – thus grouping the non-Semitic populations native to North Africa and the Horn of Africa, including the Ancient Egyptians.[4] According to the Hamitic theory, this "Hamitic race" was superior to or more advanced than the "Negroid" populations of Sub-Saharan Africa. In its most extreme form, in the writings of C. G. Seligman, this theory asserted that virtually all significant achievements in African history were the work of "Hamites".
Since the 1960s, the Hamitic hypothesis and Hamitic theory, along with other theories of "race science", have been discredited in science.[9]
^For the model of dividing humanity into races, see American Association of Physical Anthropologists (27 March 2019). "AAPA Statement on Race and Racism". American Association of Physical Anthropologists. Retrieved 19 June 2020. Instead, the Western concept of race must be understood as a classification system that emerged from, and in support of, European colonialism, oppression, and discrimination.
^For the Hamitic theory, see Benesch, Klaus; Fabre, Geneviève (2004). African Diasporas in the New and Old Worlds: Consciousness and Imagination. Rodopi. p. 269. ISBN 978-90-420-0870-0.
^Also specifically for the Hamitic theory: Howe, Stephen (1999). Afrocentrism: Mythical Pasts and Imagined Homes. Verso. p. 120. ISBN 978-1-85984-228-7.
^ abAshley, Montagu (1960). An Introduction to Physical Anthropology – Third Edition. Charles C. Thomas Publisher. p. 456.
^Allan, Keith (2013). The Oxford Handbook of the History of Linguistics. OUP Oxford. p. 275. ISBN 978-0199585847. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
^Everett Welmers, William (1974). African Language Structures. University of California Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-0520022102. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
Hamites is the name formerly used for some Northern and Horn of Africa peoples in the context of a now-outdated model of dividing humanity into different...
(1901) classification of the Hamites, Seligman divides the Hamites into two groups: (a) "Eastern Hamites" and (b) "Northern Hamites". The former include the...
sons of Noah in the Book of Genesis, together with the parallel terms Hamites and Japhetites. In archaeology, the term is sometimes used informally as...
Babylonians, Hebrews, and Arabs were one people (ein Volk). Phoenicians (Hamites) also spoke this language, which I would like to call the Semitic (die...
language and degree of Hamitic influence: the Negro-Hamites (later Nilo-Hamities) or Half-Hamites (such as the Maasai, Nandi and Turkana), the Nilotes...
Bible term for dark-skinned African Cushite woman [he], wife of Moses Hamites This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Cushite...
Noah, Shem and Ham, are the eponymous ancestors of the Semites and the Hamites, respectively. In the Biblical Table of Nations (Genesis Genesis 10:2–5)...
also comprised various other dark Caucasoid populations, including the Hamites (e.g. Berbers, Somalis, northern Sudanese, ancient Egyptians) and Moors...
Some species were very widely distributed, for example some species of Hamites can be found in Eurasia, South America, Australia, and Antarctica. Others...
also comprised various other dark Caucasoid populations, including the Hamites and Moors. (Gregory, John Walter (1931). Race as a Political Factor. Watts...
Baculites – another type of extinct, straight-shelled cephalopod. Belemnite Hamites Lituites Paleontological Institute. "Part K, Mollusca 3". Treatise on Invertebrate...
British Academy. ISBN 978-0-19-726055-5. The Northern Nilo-Hamites (1953) The Southern Nilo- Hamites (1953) The Galla of Ethiopia (1955) Correspondence, seminar...
the son of Ham. In biblical and historical usage, the term "Cushites" (Hamites) refers to individuals of East African origin (Horn of Africa and Sudan)...
the Göttingen school of history derived the race terminology Semites, Hamites and Japhetites. Certain of Noah's grandsons were also used for names of...
Canaan's colonization by the Egyptians in the Late Bronze Age, who were Hamites according to the Hebrew Bible. Brian R. Doak argues that "Canaanite" does...
peoples, Hamites and Negroes, and he described Sephardi Jews as being a mixture of Orientals, Near Easterners, Mediterranean peoples, Hamites, Nordic peoples...
they are prominently featured in the marketing of products and locations. Hamites List of Berber people Haratin Maghrebis Warmington uses "Libyans of Tunisia"...
which was to give a name to these ancestors by opposing the Aryans to the Hamites, the Mongols—and the Jews. Anthony 2007, pp. 7–8. Anthony 2007, p. 8. Goodrick-Clarke...
include Ishmael as the founder of the Arabs, the connection of "Semites", "Hamites" and "Japhetites" to the classical nations of the world, and the story...