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This paper deals with the general problem of the Formative Period and presents a proposal for subdivision based upon characterizations of material cultures and their distributions as interaction spheres and traditions. These reflect significant changes that may be related to changes in the mechanisms of language dispersal. It hypothesizes that a pre-protomochica was spoken in northern Perú; that multilingualism prevailed at the site of Chavín site; and that different languages existed in the north-central, central and south-central highlands, perhaps dominated by a pre-protoquechua. In other areas possible links between Formative Period styles and linguistics remain unknown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]