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Although the language of the Olmec civilization, which flourished in southern Mexico circa 1500 BCE-400 BCE, hasn't been identified, it likely belonged to the Mixe-Zoquean family, a group of related languages whose present-day representatives are spoken in an area corresponding to ancient Olmec sites. The family can be subdivided into a Zoque branch, which includes Francisco León Zoque, and a Mixe branch, which includes Isthmus Mixe. Many words in the Mayan languages-languages spoken in the region but otherwise unrelated to the Mixe-Zoquean family are Mixe-Zoquean in origin and were likely borrowed during the period when the Olmecs dominated the entire area. Tellingly, all those words derive from the Zoque branch, suggesting that