22 
Inhabitants 
200,000 9 299 o90 
\ (Mendizabal) 
\ 
\ 
\ 
\ 
\ 
\ 
\ 
\ 
INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY—PUBLICATION NO. 7 
100,000 \ | | 
| 
| \ 22,000 (Mendizabal) | | 
~~ | i; 
80,000 ar F SS SS 
i | 
~ 
in | Offical census 
~ dota 
ec,ece LE if T AN, 
| 55,000" 4,795 
(Villasefior & church records) 
40,000 
20,000 
(e) 
Year 1500 1550 1600 1650 1700 1750 1800 1850 1900 1950 
Ficure 1.—Decline of Tarascan population, 1500-1940. The figures for 1500 and 1550 include all aboriginal inhabitants 
in the diocese of Michoacan. 
Besides the Tarascans, several thousand Otom{ and some Huastec inhabited the eastern 
and northeastern sections of the diocese (Guanajuato and San Luis Potosi), and many people of Nahuatl speech 
lived in the western portion (Colima, southwest Michoacan). 
and Cumachuén (62 percent monolingual). More- 
over, the pueblos of La Cafiada, adjacent to mod- 
ern transportation facilities, are surprisingly mono- 
lingual (59 percent). Other scattered, ultracon- 
servative towns, such as Angahuan, Cocucho, and 
Cherandtzicurin in the Sierra, contain a large 
number of monolinguals. 
Effects of Paricutin Voleano.—The eruption of 
Paricutin Volcano early in 1943 caused the redis- 
tribution of some of the Tarascan population. 
The inhabitants of the completely destroyed towns 
of Paricutin and Parangaricutiro were transferred 
to new lands near Uruapan. Those of Paricutin 
were moved to the new settlement of Caltzontzin, 
5 km. east of Uruapan, in February 1943. This 
pueblo now forms a new island of Tarascan speech 
in the tierra templada. With Government aid the 
people of Parangaricutiro established a new 
pueblo near the rancho of Los Conejos, 6 km. west 
of Uruapan, in March 1944. Another new town, 
