Caxcan language

Caxcan
Cazcan
Native toMexico
RegionZacatecas
EthnicityCaxcan
Eraattested 16th-17th centuries
Language codes
ISO 639-3None (mis)
0w2
GlottologNone
  Caxcan

Caxcan or Cazcan (Kaskán) was the language of the Caxcan, one of the Chichimeca peoples of Mexico. It is known only from a few word lists recorded in the 16th and 17th centuries. The language was definitely part of the Uto-Aztecan family, perhaps most closely related to Huichol or Southern Tepehuan. Other hypotheses include a close relationship with Nahuan, and according to José Ignacio Dávila Garibi, the Caxcan language was mutually intelligible with Classical Nahuatl. There appear to have been dialectal differences between the major Caxcan valleys, and it is likely that several other languages were spoken in Caxcan territory.