Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Ch’ol Maya Migrations

            The Ch’ol people did not always live in southeastern Mexico.  Over 2000 years ago, they lived in what is now Guatemala and Honduras. Over a long period of time, the group split in two, dividing into the Ch’ol and Chorti.  The ch’ol migrated to their current location, while the Chorti stayed in Guatemala.  This relationship explains why the two branches have such close language ties from my previous blog. 


Other than that one large-scale migration, the Ch’ol have stayed relatively in place ever since.  I can’t find any records of Ch’ol Maya living anywhere else in Central or South America. They are content with their location, as they have some of the most fertile ground in Mexico to grow agriculture on.  They have cultivated the same land for thousands of years, I wouldn’t want go migrate elsewhere if I were them, either.

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