Uto-Aztecan Maize Agriculture: A Linguistic Puzzle from Southern California

Abstract:The hypothesis that the members of the Proto–Uto-Aztecan speech community were maize farmers is premised in part on the assumption that a Proto–Uto-Aztecan etymon for 'maize' can be reconstructed; this implies that cognates with maize-related meanings should be attested in languages in both the Northern and Southern branches of the language family. A Proto–Southern Uto-Aztecan etymon for 'maize' is reconstructible, but the only potential cognate for these terms documented in a Northern Uto-Aztecan language is a single Gabrielino word. However, this word cannot be identified definitively as cognate with the Southern Uto-Aztecan terms for 'maize'; consequently, the existence of a Proto–Uto-Aztecan word for 'maize' cannot be postulated.

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