ABSTRACT
From the mid-19th century onwards, interpretations of human differences were predominantly in terms of ‘race’. Since there is an extensive literature on the theories of that period (e.g. Banton 1987; Stepan 1982), there is no need to cover this well-trodden ground again, except in so far as it has some bearing on the present theme. One such issue is that of monogenism versus polygenism, since it is easier and more plausible to compare certain ethnic groups to apes if it is held that their origin was separate from that of Europeans. In fact, a large majority of those who argued for the closeness of blacks to apes were polygenists.
