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Who were the Vanaras?

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The Agencies of Dharma Growing up with our itihasas, I have often wondered who were the Vanaras? Were they monkeys? and if so, how are they different from other descriptions such as markata or langula?  Why are they there in Ramayana but not in Mahabharata (a different yuga)? From an evolution standpoint, I have also wondered about the inaccurate dating of our history , and if some other humanoid species described in our itihasas are the Denisovans of India? Could it be possible that the Vanaras were the  Homo Apriliensis  of India? How do the dating and geography of these humanoid species relate to the dating of the Ramayana? I have also wondered if these are mythical creatures overlaid on a real piece of history to create the right bhava -- a technic that we see even today in India's traditional performing arts. Some have even theorized that the Vanaras of Valmiki's Ramayana are Vana Naras (forest dwellers) -   Vanena Charati iti Vaanarah , and that they were just...