Extinct languages of the Marañón River basin
| Patagón | |
|---|---|
| Patagón de Perico | |
| Native to | Peru |
| Region | Marañón River basin |
| Extinct | (date missing) |
|
Cariban
|
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 |
None (mis) |
| Glottolog | pata1255 |
| Tabancale | |
|---|---|
| Aconipa | |
| Native to | Peru |
| Region | Marañón River basin |
| Extinct | (date missing) |
|
unclassified
|
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 |
None (mis) |
| Glottolog | taba1269 |
| Chirino | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Peru |
| Region | Marañón River basin |
| Extinct | (date missing) |
|
Candoshi
|
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 |
None (mis) |
| Glottolog | None |
The Marañón River basin, at a low point in the Andes which made it an attractive location for trade between the Inca Empire and the Amazon basin, once harbored numerous languages which have been poorly attested or not attested at all. Those of the middle reaches of the river, above the Amazon basin, were replaced in historical times by Aguaruna, a Jivaroan language from the Amazon which is still spoken there. The languages further upriver are difficult to identify, due to lack of data. The region was multilingual at the time of the Conquest, and the people largely switched to Spanish rather than to Quechua, though Quechua also expanded during Colonial times.
In Ecuador, at the province of Loja, were Palta, Malacato, Rabona, Bolona, and Xiroa. Historical sources suggest these were closely related, and there is some evidence that Palta (see) was a Jivaroan language. Indeed, the name Xiroa may be a variant of Jivaro. Rabona is attested by a few words, some of which seem to be Jivaroan, but others of which appear to be Candoshí; since these are plant names, they say little about the classification of the language, and Adelaar (2004:397) leaves it unclassified. Bolona is essentially unattested.
North of the basin were Puruhá (scarcely attested), Cañar (known primarily from characteristic place names), Panzaleo (sometimes classified as Paezan), Caranqui (until the 18th century, seemingly Barbacoan), and Pasto (Barbacoan). Apart possibly from Panzaleo, these languages have elements in common, such as a final syllable -pud and onsets mwe-, pwe-, bwe-. Those suggest that they may have been related, and possibly were all Barbacoan. Adelaar (2004:397) finds this more likely than a proposal that Puruhá and Cañar were Chimuan languages (see).
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