Human zoos, also called ethnological expositions, were 19th- and 20th-century public exhibitions of humans, usually in a so-called natural or primitive state. The displays often emphasized the cultural differences between Europeans of Western civilization and non-European peoples or other Europeans with a lifestyle deemed primitive. Some of them placed indigenous people in a continuum somewhere between the great apes and humans of European descent. Ethnological expositions have since been criticized as highly degrading and racist.
In the Western Hemisphere, one of the earliest-known zoos, that of Moctezuma in Mexico, consisted not only of a vast collection of animals, but also exhibited humans, for example, dwarves, albinos and hunchbacks.
During the Renaissance, the Medicis developed a large menagerie in the Vatican. In the 16th century, Cardinal Hippolytus Medici had a collection of people of different races as well as exotic animals. He is reported as having a troup of so-called Barbarians, speaking over twenty languages; there were also Moors, Tartars, Indians, Turks and Africans.
A human zoo is a place where people are kept on display.
Human Zoo may also refer to:
Human Zoo is the sixth studio album released by the hard rock band Gotthard.
The album peaked at #1 on the Swiss Charts and was certified as 2x Platinum for exceeding 60,000 sales.
All songs written by Steve Lee/Leo Leoni/Marc Tanner except where noted.
Asian version (Avalon Records MICP-10355) adds the following
Guests:
Look at them all on the inside
Look at them wasting away
Walking around like they're hypnotized
Look, no bars on the cage
This is where they're living
Same as where they'll die
Nothing lasts forever
Can someone draw the line
Do we ever know the reason
Of what lies behind that smile
Take a seat, enjoy the journey
Just relax, I'll lead you through
Through the Human zoo
Through the Human zoo
Well, I hear em cry in the daylight
I hear 'em scream after dark
A real life jungle atmosphere
Watch 'em tear each other apart
Cause this is where they're living
Same as where they'll die
Stop it now or never
Can someone draw the line
Do we ever know the reason
Of what lies behind that smile
Take a seat, enjoy the journey
Just relax, I'll lead you through
Through the human zoo
Through the human zoo
Through the human zoo