Reconstruction beyond proto-languages in the middle Andes

The perception that the numerous similarities in lexicon, phonology and structure which unite the Quechuan and Aymaran language families in the Middle Andes region are due to intensive language contact prior to the stage of their proto-languages, rather than to a common genetic source as was previously assumed, has made it possible to visualize some of the originally inherited characteristics of each of the two linguistic lineages. This new perspective opens up multiple fields of further investigation, for instance, (a) determining the directionality of loan words (mainly from Quechuan to Aymaran, and rarely the other way around); (b) reconstructing the the structural profile of each of the two lineages prior to the beginning of their contact relation; and (c) creating the conditions for a separate external comparison of each lineage with other language families and isolates in the wider surroundings. In more general terms, it now appears possible to access earlier stages in the historical development of the Quechuan and Aymaran than that of the two proto-languages, to locate the original homeland of each lineage in relation to the newly established chronology, and to speculate on the societal context of the initial contact