"
Khoisan" (; also spelled
Khoesaan,
Khoesan or
Khoe–San) is a unifying name for two groups of
peoples of
Southern Africa, who share physical and putative linguistic characteristics distinct from the
Bantu majority of the region. Culturally, the Khoisan are divided into the
foraging San, or Bushmen, and the
pastoral Khoi, or more specifically Khoikhoi, previously known as Hottentots.