Olmec language

E677611

The Olmec language is a proposed ancient Mesoamerican tongue thought to have been spoken by the Olmec civilization and possibly related to the Mixe–Zoquean language family.

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All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Olmec language canonical 1

Statements (45)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Mesoamerican language
proposed ancient language
unattested language
associatedWith La Venta NERFINISHED
Olmec civilization NERFINISHED
San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán NERFINISHED
Tres Zapotes NERFINISHED
attestation unwritten and unattested directly
classificationStatus hypothetical
culturalContext early complex society of Gulf Coast Mesoamerica
documentationStatus no direct inscriptions conclusively identified
evidenceType archaeological context
indirect linguistic evidence
loanword evidence
toponymic evidence
extinctionReason cultural and demographic changes in Formative and Classic periods
GlottologCode none
influenced later Mesoamerican languages (proposed)
ISO639-3Code none
knownFrom analysis of later Mesoamerican languages
reconstructions by historical linguists
languageFamily Mixe–Zoquean (proposed)
languageShift replaced by later regional languages
notToBeConfusedWith Mixe–Zoquean languages themselves (which are attested)
possibleRelation Proto-Mixe–Zoquean NERFINISHED
region Gulf Coast of Mexico NERFINISHED
Mesoamerica NERFINISHED
relatedConcept Mixe–Zoquean languages NERFINISHED
Olmec civilization NERFINISHED
Proto-Mixe–Zoquean language NERFINISHED
researchField Mesoamerican linguistics
epigraphy (indirectly)
historical linguistics
scholarlyDebate whether Olmec spoke Mixe–Zoquean or another language
spokenBy Olmec civilization NERFINISHED
spokenIn present-day Tabasco
present-day Veracruz
status extinct
timePeriod Formative period of Mesoamerica NERFINISHED
c. 1500–400 BCE
uncertainty exact classification disputed
grammar unknown
lexicon largely unknown
phonology unknown
writingSystem none securely attested

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.