Ham, the third son of Noah. According to tradition Ham had four sons, Cush, Mizraim, Phut, and Canaan. Canaan became the ancestor of the tribes of Phoenicia and Palestine. The other three sons, grandsons of Noah, migrated southward and peopled the African continent. As is well known, North Africa is peopled by tribes of dark complexion, but white blood. They are known as a Hamitic group. The more important are the Berbers and the Egyptians, including the Copts. Other tribes are so intermixed with negro blood that it is difficult to say whether they are white or colored. However widespread the custom, it is not correct to speak of a negro as a "son of Ham." It has been suggested that Ammon, the deity chiefly worshiped in North Africa, is a corruption of Ham, their great ancestor. See AMMONITE.