I've heard stories about Roman travelers finding gorillas and what not, and how they thought they were more savage humans. Are there any other records like this? How did Africans interact with them?
hiya, a few earlier posts
How long have black African people been caricatured as apes and monkeys? Do these portrayals predate Darwin's theory of human evolution? featuring /u/Parnasse
What is the first reference we have about the similarities between humans and apes? includes links to a half-dozen more posts
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You should look up Hanno of Carthage. He set up a gold and silver trade on the western African coast.
"Some time later, as they continued sailing south, they arrived at another island in a lake, where they came across some mysterious beings:
"It was full of savages; by far the greater number were women with hairy bodies, called by our interpreters "gorillas." We gave chase to the men but could not catch any, for they climbed up steep rocks and pelted us with stones. However, we captured three women, who bit and scratched their captors. We killed and flayed them and brought their skins back to Carthage.""
"The Rise of Rome" by Anthony Everitt. Pages 208-210.
I hope I pointed you in the direction you wanted. I'm sure someone with more wisdom on this might help you better. Good luck!