INDIAN LANGUAGES OF MEXICO AND CENTRAL 
AMERICA 
By Cyrus THOMAS 
Assisted by Joun R. SwanTON 
INTRODUCTION 
The narrative portion of this bulletin is devoted to a statement of 
the authority on which the establishment of the linguistic areas indi- 
cated on the accompanying map rests, along with the writer’s reasons 
for adopting certain names and rejecting others. For Mexico, 
Orozco y Berra’s map and conclusions are used as a basis, and it 
will be found, though the original authorities, so far as accessible, 
have been examined, that there has been occasion for but few and 
comparatively slight changes. T his authority was not only familiar 
with all of the works, early and late, bearing on this subject that had 
been published up to his time, but he also had access to numerous 
unpublished documents. 
As these notes will show, there are some other linguistic names 
which, in view of the evidence, are entitled perhaps to places on the 
map, but it has been considered best to omit them wherever much 
doubt exists. It has been found impossible, and perhaps it will 
always remain so, to indicate the smaller linguistic areas within the 
major stocks in conformity with any absolute standard. The Mayan, 
Zapotecan, Zoquean, and part of the Nahuatlan stocks are the only 
ones which could be satisfactorily treated in this manner, but it must 
be remembered that many others would be found to have similar sub- 
divisions were data available. Where relationship is suspected be- 
tween two or more stocks an endeavor has been made to indicate the 
fact by using related shades of coloring. All tribes treated in the text 
will not be found indicated on the map, in some cases because the 
languages spoken by them did not differ sufficiently from those of 
their neighbors to warrant independent representation, and in others 
because they occupied ‘unclassified”’ areas. As mentioned in the 
prefatory note, the map accompanying this bulletin has been sub- 
mitted to a number of students familiar with Mexican ethnology, 
and several alterations and additions suggested by them have been 
adopted. . 
CT: 
1 
