Proto-Mixe–Zoquean or Proto-Mixe–Zoque is a language that language scholars and Mesoamerican historians believe was spoken on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec during the Initial Formative Period (c. 2000–1200 BCE). Wichmann (1995) has reconstructed nearly 600 Proto-Mixe–Zoquean lexical items.
Ethnic marker Olmec influence on neighboring groups and cultures and those who followed them suggest that they shared a similar language, or were rooted in a similar language.Campbell, Lyle; Kaufman, Terrence (1976). "A Linguistic Look at the Olmecs". American Antiquity 41 (1): 80-89. In later Mesoamerican languages, evidence of loan words suggests that the Olmecs influenced both material culture and the language. Many words borrowed by these early civilizations indicate a shared vocabulary of Mesoamerican cultigens (beans, squash, tomatoes, and maize) and food preparation.Evans, Susan Toby 2008 Ancient Mexico and Central America: Archaeology and Culture History, second edition. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd. In A Linguistic Look at the Olmecs, Lyle Campbell and Terrence Kaufman even suggest that Proto-Mixe-Zoquean could be the language of the Olmecs.
Phonology FrontCentralBackClose Mid Open has also been reconstructed . BilabialAlveolarAlveolo-palatalVelarGlottalStopFricativeNasalApproximant(l)
Syllables A vowel could be short or long, and the nucleus of a syllable could be a short or long vowel or followed by /ʔ/ or /h/.
Mixe–Zoquean languages are characterized by complex syllabic nuclei made up of combinations of vowels together with the glottal stop and in the proto-language. Complex syllable-final consonant clusters are also typical in the daughter languages and can be reconstructed for the proto-language.
Proto-Mixe–Zoquean syllable nuclei could be either:
V – short vowel V' – short vowel with glottal stop VV – long vowel V'V – long vowel with medial glottal stop VV' – long vowel with final glottal stop Vh – short vowel with h
Mixe–Zoque language Archaeologists call this culture Mokaya, which means 'people of the corn' in the contemporary Mixe–Zoque languages.Evans, Susan Toby 2008 Ancient Mexico and Central America: Archaeology and Culture History, second edition. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd. Archaeological evidence indicates that the Mixe–Zoque language was spoken across the isthmus, therefore sharing its roots in this Olmec language tradition, and a common ancestor, the proto-Mixe–Zoque.Evans, Susan Toby 2008 Ancient Mexico and Central America: Archaeology and Culture History, second edition. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd.
See also Mixe–Zoque languages Mixe languages Zoque languages
References