The Totonacs inhabit northern Vera Cruz and speak a language related to that of the Mayas; the Tarascos form a small group living in Michoacan; the Matlanzingos, or Matlaltzincas, live near the Tarascos, the savage Apaches, a nomadic group of tribes ranging from Durango northward into the United States; the Opata-Pima group, inhabiting the western plateau region from Sonora and Chihuahua south to Guadalajara, is sometimes classed as a branch of the Nahuatlaca; the Seris, a very small family of savages, occupy Tiburon Island and the adjacent mainland of Sonora; and the Guaicuros, or Yumas, are to be found in the northern part of the peninsula of Lower California.
There has been much discussion in regard to the origin of the Toltecs, some assuming that they were a distinct race, and others that they belonged to the Nahuatlaca.