African pygmies and a European explorer.

Baka dancers in the East Province of Cameroon

Pygmy is a word that describes several ethnic groups with unusually short people. According to anthropologists, pygmies can be any group where adult men are less than 150 centimetres (4.9 ft) tall on average. The best known pygmies are the Aka, Efé and Mbuti of central Africa. There are also pygmies in Australia, Thailand, Malaysia,Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, and Brazil. The Negritos of Southeast Asia are also called pygmies.