The Extinct Tribes of Baja California

Yuman speaking tribes, or more correctly, ethnolinguistic groups, still survive over the border from the United States in Baja California.  However, all of the groups from the Cochimi south are gone.  A few fragmentary records of their languages exist.  Determining the relationships of these languages using these records has been attempted.  Cochimi is related to the Yuman languages and the language family is now called Yuman Cochimi.  The more southerly groups are less certain in their relationship.  Guaicura may be related to the Yuman Cochimi and the Pericu language may be related to the Guaicura.  The Seri in Sonora may be related to these languages as well but some people call it a “language isolate”–not related to any other known language.  In southern Baja California they had no dogs and the spear thrower was used.