Linguistic Map of Mexico and Central America

An early study of Native American language groups.

This historic map depicts the presence of dozens of indigenous languages across the entirety of Mexico and Central America. It was originally authored in 1909 by Cyrus Thomas to accompany ‘Indian Languages of Mexico and Central America and Their Geographical Distributions’, published by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C. in 1911.

A prefatory note in the volume indicates Dr. Thomas was continuing the groundbreaking work of J.W. Powell, Director of the Bureau of American Ethnology and creator of a similar linguistic map of North America. “These results are now submitted, not as a final work, but as an attempt to represent the present state of knowledge regarding a subject which may never be cleared entirely of obscurity.”

Thirty different patterns and colors represent major indigenous groups ranging from the Yuma in the north to the Cunan in the south. Several tribes are subdivided further into more specific linguistic groups, such as the Apache and Toboso, components of the Athapaskan people. Historic sites, major settlements, and notable geographic features are also labeled throughout.

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