Question

On what basis did anthropologists and zoologists back the decision to exhibit a Congolese man, Ota Benga, in the monkey house at New York's Bronx Zoo?

Answer 1

Theories of race based on Charles Darwin's ideas about natural selection

Step-by-step explanation:

• Ota Benga was a Congo ( Mbuti) Pygmy man who was exhibited at the Bronx Zoo in New York.
• His exhibition sparked a lot of controversies, however, the decision to exhibit him in the zoo was backed by the anthropologists as well as the zoologists based on the theories of the race which were based on Darwin' ideas of natural selection.
• Venga who brought him in the zoo was influenced by Darwin's theory according to which humans were divided into contrived races, however, people argued that it was opposed to Christianity and thus, faced major opposition.