Re:Was there a civilization on Earth before humans?
by perl4ever on Saturday April 14, 2018 @07:17PM
(#16840138)
The page provides several alternatives, ending with "the Chontal Maya people refer to themselves as the Yokot'anob or the Yokot'an, meaning "the speakers of Yoko ochoco." Thus Yucatan most likely derives from Yokot'an."
While this is marked as "citation needed", given the information provided, it seems illogical to prefer one of the other explanations just because it sounds more amusing.
Also see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chontal_Maya which seems to at least confirm the term "Yokot'an" exists.
It is probably specious reasoning to assume that the name originated at the moment the Spanish first met the indigenous people, but it seems to be such a good story that most don't question it, even when they are debating the different possibilities.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yucat%C3%A1n#Origin_of_%22Yuca...