Proto-Mixe Zoque

Proto-Mixe Zoque is a language that language scholars and Mesoamerican historians believe was spoken on the Isthmus of Mexico during the Initial Formative Period (c. 2000–1200 BC).

Evidence of this proto-Mixe Zoque language is limited, and researchers have reconstructed only a small amount of its vocabulary, about 450 items.

Olmec influence on neighboring groups and cultures, and those that followed them suggest that they shared a similar language, or had roots in a similar language, called the proto-Mixe Zoque. In later Mesoamerican languages, evidence of loan words suggests that in earlier times the Olmec’s influence involved not only the material culture, but the language as well. Many of the words borrowed by these early civilizations show a shared vocabulary of Mesoamerican cultigens, beans, squash, tomatoes, maize, and food preparation. The vocabulary reveals that Mesoamerican speakers had a sophisticated culture for their time.

A vowel could either be short or long, and the nucleus of a syllable could either involve a short or long vowel, or was followed by /ʔ/ or /h/.

This culture is what archaeologists call Mokaya, which means “people of the corn” in the contemporary Mixe-Zoque languages. 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.

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