ap human geography definition of kurgan hypothesis

Vocabulary:  Chapter 4

Language:  ch. 5, religion:  chapter 6.

March 1, 2018

New Evidence Fuels Debate over the Origin of Modern Languages

Nomadic horse riders likely opened a “steppe bridge” between Europe and Asia, but recent genetic data raise more questions 

By Roni Jacobson

The earliest Proto-Indo-European speakers were likely nomadic horse riders.

Five thousand years ago nomadic horseback riders from the Ukrainian steppe charged through Europe and parts of Asia. They brought with them a language that is the root of many of those spoken today—including English, Spanish, Hindi, Russian and Persian. That is the most widely accepted explanation for the origin of this ancient tongue, termed Proto-Indo-European (PIE). Recent genetic findings confirm this hypothesis but also raise questions about how the prehistoric language evolved and spread.

No written record of PIE exists, but linguists believe they have largely reconstructed it. Some words, including “water” ( wódṛ ), “father” ( pH 2 -ter ) and “mother” ( meH 2 -ter ), are still used today. Archaeologist Marija Gimbutas first proposed the Ukrainian origin, known as the kurgan hypothesis, in the 1950s. Gimbutas traced the language back to the Yamnaya people, herders from the southern grasslands of modern-day Ukraine who domesticated the horse.

In 2015 a series of studies sequenced the DNA of human bones and other remains from many parts of Europe and Asia. The data suggest that around 3500 B.C.—roughly the same time that many linguists place the origin of PIE and that archaeologists date horse domestication—Yamnaya genes replaced about 75 percent of the existing human gene pool in Europe. Together with the archaeological and linguistic evidence, the genetic data tipped the scales heavily in favor of the kurgan hypothesis.

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Credit: Tiffany Farrant-Gonzalez; Source: “Mapping the Origins and Expansion of the Indo-European Language Family,” by Remco Bouckaert et al., in  Science , Vol. 337; August 24, 2012

Newer findings complicate the story, however. In a study published last June in the Journal of Human Genetics , researchers sequenced the mitochondrial DNA of 12 Yamnaya individuals, along with their immediate predecessors and descendants. The remains were found in burial mounds, or kurgans (from which the theory takes its name), in modern-day Ukraine. They had been buried in layers atop one another from the end of the Stone Age through the Bronze Age, between about 4500 and 1500 B.C.—the same time as the genetic replacement event in Europe. The earliest and midrange specimens' mitochondrial DNA (which is inherited from the mother) was almost entirely local. But the mitochondrial DNA of the most recent specimens included DNA from central Europe, including present-day Poland, Germany and Sweden. This discovery indicates that “there were pendulum migrations back and forth,” says lead author Alexey Nikitin, a professor of archaeology and genetics at Grand Valley State University. In other words, he adds, “it wasn't a one-way trip.”

These findings give the kurgan hypothesis “a lot more credit,” Nikitin says. But he contends that his new results also show the migration was on a smaller scale than previously speculated; the more recent specimens apparently only made it as far as central Europe before returning, even though the language eventually spread as far as the British Isles. Nikitin also believes the dissemination was not as violent as it is often made out to be. “A military campaign would explain the genetic replacement. But that's [unlikely to have been] the case,” he says.

David Anthony, an anthropologist at Hartwick College, who co-authored several of the earlier genetic studies but was not involved in the latest work, calls the new findings very convincing. “The domestication of the horse created a steppe bridge into India and Iran on the one side and Europe on the other side,” Anthony says. “When [the] Yamnaya people moved into eastern and western Europe, their genetic signature was very different from what was there before,” he explains. “That's what makes it paint such a clear picture [of how the root language spread] and why you can really see the migrations so easily on a map.”

Yet Anthony disagrees with the interpretation that this was a small and mostly peaceful affair. Without written words, language transmission at the time would have depended largely on face-to-face contact, he says, suggesting the PIE speakers swept well across Europe and Asia. He believes linguistic and archaeological evidence, including weapons found in graves, suggests the language's progenitors had a warrior culture. Nikitin argues the ax-heads were purely “decorative,” however.

Both researchers caution against reading too much into genetic evidence alone. Many other social and cultural forces were at play. “Language shifts generally flow in the direction of groups that have higher economic status, more political power and higher prestige,” Anthony says. “And in the most brutal situations, it will flow in the direction of people who survived.”

AP Human Geography: Geographic Models and Theories

Advanced Placement (AP) Human Geography introduces students to the complexities of human societies, their spatial organization, and the relationships between people and their environments. An integral part of the course involves understanding various geographic models and theories that help explain patterns, processes, and interactions across the globe. In this article, we will explore key models and theories, shedding light on how they contribute to a deeper understanding of human geography.

I. Central Place Theory:

A. concept:.

   Central Place Theory, developed by Walter Christaller, aims to explain the distribution of human settlements. It posits that urban centers act as nodes providing goods and services to surrounding areas, creating a hierarchy of settlements based on their size and function.

B. Application:

   This theory helps explain the spatial arrangement of cities and towns, emphasizing factors like distance, transportation, and market areas. Understanding Central Place Theory is crucial for analyzing urban development and regional planning.

II. Von Thünen Model:

   Proposed by Johann Heinrich von Thünen, this model illustrates the spatial organization of agricultural activities around a central market. It suggests that different types of agriculture are located in concentric rings around a city, with land use determined by transportation costs.

   The Von Thünen Model is instrumental in understanding agricultural land use patterns. It emphasizes how proximity to markets and transportation networks influences the choice of crops and farming practices.

III. Rostow's Stages of Economic Growth:

   Walt Rostow's model outlines five stages of economic development, ranging from traditional societies to advanced industrial economies. It suggests that nations progress through these stages in a linear fashion, with each stage characterized by specific economic activities.

   Rostow's model helps explain global disparities in economic development. It underscores the role of investment, innovation, and technological progress in advancing economies from one stage to the next.

IV. Bid-Rent Theory:

   The Bid-Rent Theory explores how the price and demand for land change as one moves away from the central business district (CBD) in urban areas. It emphasizes that land use is influenced by accessibility, with more valuable land closer to the city center.

   Understanding the Bid-Rent Theory is crucial for analyzing urban land-use patterns. It provides insights into the dynamics of real estate markets and the factors influencing the distribution of commercial, residential, and industrial spaces.

V. Gravity Model:

   The Gravity Model, borrowed from physics, is applied to human geography to predict the interaction between two places. It posits that the interaction is directly proportional to the product of the masses of the two places and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

   The Gravity Model is widely used in transportation planning, trade analysis, and migration studies. It helps predict the flow of goods, services, and people between different locations.

VI. Sector Model (Hoyt Model):

   The Sector Model, proposed by Homer Hoyt, is an urban land-use model that suggests cities develop in sectors radiating outward from the central business district (CBD). Different sectors represent different land uses and socio-economic activities.

   The Sector Model is valuable for understanding urban growth patterns and the socio-economic stratification of cities. It highlights how transportation routes and historical factors influence the spatial organization of urban areas.

Conclusion:

In the intricate tapestry of AP Human Geography, geographic models and theories serve as invaluable tools for analyzing spatial patterns, economic development, and urban structures. By delving into these models, students gain a nuanced understanding of the dynamic relationships between human societies and their environments. Whether examining the distribution of settlements, the organization of agriculture, or the stages of economic growth, the application of these theories provides a comprehensive framework for unraveling the complexities of human geography on a global scale. As students navigate through the rich landscape of geographic models and theories, they acquire the analytical skills needed to comprehend and interpret the ever-evolving dynamics of human societies across the world.

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, the ultimate ap human geography study guide.

Advanced Placement (AP)

In your AP Human Geography class, you'll learn about the dynamics of societies around the world in economic, social, political, and environmental contexts. This course focuses a lot on ideas and models, along with terminology that defines the ways in which we've chosen to inhabit and change our surroundings.

This AP Human Geography study guide is designed to guide you through all the big concepts covered in the course , with an emphasis on cumulative preparation for the AP exam.

How to Use This AP Human Geography Study Guide

This guide will help you review for assessments in your AP Human Geography class by providing links to practice resources and tips on effective study strategies. I'll also give advice that's specific to preparing for the final AP exam.

In the first section, I'll detail a step-by-step process you can follow to create and execute a customized study plan for the test. This process includes taking a diagnostic test, evaluating your weaknesses, studying the content areas you struggled with the most, and taking additional practice tests to check your progress.

To follow up the study plan, I'll list a few key study tips to remember as you revisit the course content and take practice exams. I'll also give you notes for each topic area that you can use to study for in-class tests and review for the AP exam.

Having all this information in one place will hopefully make studying for AP Human Geography much less stressful!

4-Step Study Plan for AP Human Geography

In this section, I'll go through the steps of a basic study plan for the AP Human Geography exam. Most of the principles will also apply to your studying for tests throughout the class, but full practice tests are only important when directly preparing for the final exam .

You can use shorter topic-specific quizzes to diagnose your weaknesses in different units of the Human Geography course earlier in the school year.

For planning purposes, here's the estimated time required for each step below:

• Step 1: 2.5 hours
• Step 2: 1 hour
• Step 3: 2 hours
• Step 4: 2.5 hours

It should take approximately eight hours to study for the AP Human Geography exam. Of course, you can always extend the time you spend reviewing content if you're rusty on a bunch of different topics or just want to be extra thorough.

Step 1: Take and Score a Full Practice Test

The first step is to take a full AP Human Geography practice test so you can get a better idea of your current score level . When you take the test, time it to the specifications of the real exam so you'll be able to tell if you have any issues with time management.

Keep in mind that on the test, you only have an hour to answer 60 multiple-choice questions ; this comes out to a minute per question. To be on the safe side, though, try to get your time down to around 45 seconds per question. The only way to get used to this pace is to take practice tests under realistic conditions.

While there are no official practice tests available, we've collected some of the best unofficial ones in our guide .

As you take the practice test, circle or make note of any questions for which you feel anything less than totally confident in your answer . Even if you end up getting these questions right, you should reexamine the content later in your review to increase your comfort level with the material.

When you're done, score your test so you can see where you fall in the AP range. You can use this online calculator for a decent score estimation based on how many raw points you earned.

Then, set a goal for improvement , and decide how many hours you'll need to put into your prep.

If you have a couple of months, you should be able to put in 20+ hours of study time. This will be an appropriate amount of studying if you're hoping to improve by more than one AP point.

If you only need to improve by one AP point or are just looking to raise your score within the same range, you might be able to wait until the month before the test to start the rest of the process. In total, you shouldn't need to study for more than 10-20 hours.

Step 2: Go Through Your Mistakes

If you decide to begin the rest of this process now, go through your mistakes on the Human Geography practice test and categorize them . This is how you'll decide which content and skill areas to focus on in your review.

There's no point in studying concepts and terms you've already mastered. If you want to see real improvements, this is the most important stage of the study process. You can't fix your mistakes unless you know what they are first!

Step 3: Study Appropriate Content

After you finish analyzing your mistakes, start looking at notes that correspond to the areas where you had the most trouble on the test . Make sure you're fully absorbing the information as you read.

In this case, flashcards might be useful because there are so many terms to remember for AP Human Geography. If you found the free-response questions especially challenging, practice a few more of those before you move on to the next step.

You can also use some of the sites I'll link to later in this article to review specific topics with short multiple-choice quizzes.

Step 4: Take a Second Full Practice Test

When you feel that you've fully addressed all your mistakes on the first practice test, you can take a second test to see whether your scores have improved . Compare your new score to the goal you set in the first step, and decide whether you want to go through the study process again or are happy with your current score.

If you're satisfied, you can take a break and just do a bit of light review up until the test.

If you haven't improved, reevaluate how you conducted this process and make some changes to your strategy in the next round. Were you in an environment that was too distracting? Did you skim over your notes without really absorbing them? Are you just generally a bit rusty? These are the kinds of things that can cause your progress to stall.

AP Human Geography: 3 Essential Study Tips

Below are a few of the most valuable strategies to keep in mind as you go through your study plan to prepare for the AP Human Geography exam. These tips should also be helpful for your prep for smaller assessments throughout the school year in your AP class.

#1: Know Your Regions

To get full credit for most free-response questions, you'll have to provide specific examples to support your answers . This means being able to identify the characteristics of world regions in terms of their various cultures, demographics, and physical environments.

You'll see a map of the major regions covered by AP Human Geography in the content section of this guide along with a list of seven units. You should be able to locate each region and identify the relationship it has with each of the seven topic areas .

#2: Memorize Terminology

While knowing your way around a map is important, much of AP Human Geography is about your knowledge of terminology. I highly recommend making flashcards or using online flashcards in your prep (I'll put a link to some of these in the upcoming content section!).

Many multiple-choice questions are essentially just asking for definitions, and some free-response questions begin by asking you to define a term that the rest of the question addresses in more depth.

Even if it's not this direct, knowing your way around the language of the field of human geography will make it far easier for you to understand questions without relying on shaky assumptions or inferences.

#3: Pay Attention to Important Models and Theories

Human Geography is mostly considered a humanities subject, but there are some scientific elements to it. These show up in the form of demographic models that are introduced throughout the course.

It's important to know how to read models and understand what they represent. You should also know how they connect to major theories in human geography and what those theories say about the development of society.

I'll give you a link to a comprehensive list of models and theories at the end of the next section.

Skylar, how many times do I have to explain homophones to you? YOU'RE. NOT. HELPING.

AP Human Geography Topics and Notes

AP Human Geography covers seven major topic areas, or units. In this section, I'll list each of them followed by notes that cover relevant subtopics. You can use these notes in the content review stage of your final study process and throughout the year as you review for in-class tests.

You might find these notes (from CourseNotes) difficult to get through because they're written in such a way that it's hard to pick out key concepts. There are a lot of long paragraphs with no bolding of important terms. If you find these notes borderline incomprehensible, you should try getting a review book that puts all the content in clearer terms . I think Cracking the AP Human Geography Exam is a good starting point.

As a precursor to the notes, here's a map of all the world regions that are discussed throughout the course. You'll need to consider how these topics apply differently to varying locations around the globe:

Unit 1: Thinking Geographically

• Geography and Human Geography

Unit 2: Population and Migration Patterns and Processes

• The Earth as Humanity's Home
• Fundamentals of Population: Location, Distribution, and Density
• Processes and Cycles of Population Change
• Where and Why People Move

Unit 3: Cultural Patterns and Processes

• Cultures, Environments, and Regions
• A Geography of Languages
• Diffusion of Languages
• Modern Language Mosaics
• Origins and Distribution of Religions
• Religion: Location, Diffusion, and Cultural Landscape
• Religion, Culture, and Conflict

Unit 4: Political Patterns and Processes

• Political Culture and the Evolving State
• State Organization and National Power
• Multinationalism on the Map
• The Changing Global Political Landscape

Unit 5: Agriculture and Rural Land-Use Patterns and Processes

• Livelihoods of Rural Peoples
• Rural Settlement Forms
• Commercial Agriculture
• Global Disparities in Nutrition and Health

Unit 6: Cities and Urban Land-Use Patterns and Processes

• Civilization and Urbanization
• Urbanization and Location
• Urban Pattern and Structure
• The Changing Nature of the Civic Experience

Unit 7: Industrial and Economic Development Patterns and Processes

• Industrial Activity and Geographic Location
• Resources and Regions: The Global Distribution of Industry
• Concepts of Development
• From Deindustrialization to Globalization

Because terms are so important on this exam, I also recommend checking out this full list of all vocab covered by the course (provided by Quizlet) so you can review all the vocab you'll need to know in one place.

In addition, take a look at this overview of the different human geography theories and models .

When lots of humans get together to form an urban community, they can't help but color on everything. What an adorable species.

Top Resources for Your AP Human Geography Review

Below are some resources you can use to test your knowledge of AP Human Geography content and take practice tests and quizzes.

Official Course and Exam Descriptions

Although there are no official AP Human Geography practice tests available, the College Board has released plenty of sample practice questions you can use in your prep through its free Course and Exam Description (CED) PDFs.

The current CED for 2020 , which has been fully updated for the new test format , contains 15 multiple-choice questions and two free-response questions, as well as a scoring guide.

There's also the 2015 Human Geography CED , which has 23 multiple-choice questions and six free-response questions you can practice with. Just be aware that this guide is not aligned with the new format of the AP exam.

Official Free-Response Questions and Scoring Guides

In addition to Course and Exam Descriptions, the College Board maintains a huge archive of free-response questions that have been asked on the AP Human Geography exam since 2001 . We recommend using these after you've practiced with the sample FRQs in the 2020 Course and Exam Description (see above resource).

Most of these FRQs also come with scoring guidelines and sample student responses so you can get a better sense of how to earn full points on them.

AP Classroom

AP Classroom is a new creation by the College Board that allows AP teachers to keep track of their students' progress through a virtual classroom. Here, teachers can test students' skills by sending them AP Human Geography practice questions on a regular basis.

Highly Rated Review Books

AP Human Geography review books are useful resources that provide access to additional practice questions and tests. They often include diagnostic tests that will help you determine your weak areas accurately and with less legwork on your part.

Especially in a subject like Human Geography that can be a little elusive, books will help you figure out exactly what you need to study and how you should study it.

Some solid review books for this exam include the following:

• The Princeton Review's Cracking the AP Human Geography Exam, Premium 2022 Edition
• Barron's AP Human Geography, Eighth Edition
• REA's AP Human Geography Crash Course

Sporcle Geography Quizzes

As I mentioned in the tips section, it's important to know your world regions for AP Human Geography so you can back up your answers with specific examples .

You don't need to be a complete expert on where every country is located, but these quizzes are both fun and educational, so I recommend checking them out (warning: super addictive!).

• Countries of the World
• Countries of Asia
• Countries of Europe
• Countries of Africa
• Countries of South America
• Countries of North America

Varsity Tutors Diagnostic Tests

Famed test-prep company Varsity Tutors offers four diagnostic tests for AP Human Geography, each with 75 multiple-choice questions . (Be aware that the current test format only consists of 60 multiple-choice questions, so you can skip 15 of these in your practice.)

The tests have automatic scoring, and each is given a preliminary difficulty level rating. There are also tons of mini-quizzes listed by concept if you want to practice topic-specific questions, as well as flashcards that will help you learn all the course terminology .

Albert Practice Questions

Albert offers quizzes on every AP Human Geography topic, with questions categorized by topic and unit. Quizzes here range in length from just three to as many as 62 questions , and the website keeps a running tally of how many questions you've answered correctly. You'll need to pay for an account to access most of the materials, however.

Chapter Quizzes for Human Geography: Landscapes of Human Activities

If you select a chapter of this book on the left-hand navigation bar, you can scroll down and click on a link for a multiple-choice quiz. These quizzes are helpful review materials, even if your class isn't using this particular textbook.

Recap: Using This AP Human Geography Study Guide

This AP Human Geography study guide has covered a review plan for the AP test, tips for success in studying throughout the year, and a list of all the topics covered in the AP Human Geography curriculum and on the exam.

The steps in a successful AP Human Geography study plan should look something like this:

• Step 1: Take and score a practice test
• Step 2: Go through your mistakes
• Step 3: Study appropriate content
• Step 4: Take a second practice test

Again, you can go through this process multiple times if you don't get the results you want in the first round. Just pay close attention to whether or not you're improving. If not, make changes to amp up the effectiveness of your content review.

Some study tips to keep in mind as you study for the AP Human Geography test and any in-class assessments include the following:

• Know your world regions
• Memorize terminology
• Pay attention to major geographic models and theories

After you're clear on the fundamentals of how to study, you can use the notes and prep resources in the second half of this article to prepare for unit quizzes, midterms, and the final AP exam.

What's Next?

Thinking about self-studying for this AP course—or other AP courses? Find out more about whether AP self-study is right for you and which AP classes are the most manageable options .

If you're still planning out your schedule for the future , check out our guide on which other history classes you should take after AP Human Geography.

You might also be interested in these articles that discuss AP credit policies at colleges and which classes you should take in high school based on your college goals.

These recommendations are based solely on our knowledge and experience. If you purchase an item through one of our links, PrepScholar may receive a commission.

Samantha is a blog content writer for PrepScholar. Her goal is to help students adopt a less stressful view of standardized testing and other academic challenges through her articles. Samantha is also passionate about art and graduated with honors from Dartmouth College as a Studio Art major in 2014. In high school, she earned a 2400 on the SAT, 5's on all seven of her AP tests, and was named a National Merit Scholar.

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30 Models and Theories to Know for AP Human Geography

8 min read • may 10, 2022

Amanda DoAmaral

AP Human Geo Models & Theories to Know!

The models & theories for each unit are centerpieces of content and they appear alllllll over the exam. You'll be asked about them in multiple-choice and free-response questions, so it's crucial that you are familiar with each of these. Be able to explain what information each one provides and examples if you can!

Study Tips:

Create your own quizlet deck and study these dates! There are tons of decks already made with these dates (ex. here ), but actually creating the deck is an important step in studying.

Unit 1 Models & Theories: Intro to Geography

1. Latitude, Longitude : Lat is fat! Long is Long! Latitude lines are horizontal, Longitude lines are vertical. Latitude is natural because the Earth is a globe, so half of it is 0°, also known as the equator, and each line north and south measures distance from the equator. Longitude lines are not based on a natural marker. The prime meridian, or 0°, goes through Greenwich, England, which is arbitrary and could have been at any city.

2. GIS: Geographic Information Systems are used to analyze data on maps using layers!

3. Types of Thematic Maps (isoline, dot, proportional symbol, choropleth): Each type of map shows different information through the use of colors, lines, symbols, and distortion.

Check out our unit 1 study guide!

⚡ Watch: AP Human Geography - Maps, Maps, Maps

Unit 2 Models & Theories: Population & Migration

4. Population Pyramids: Used to analyze the demographic makeup of a population including age and gender.

5. Demographic Transition Model: This model is based on the theory that all states transition through 5 stages that are based on markers including birth rate, death rate, and natural increase of population. The more industrialized and developed a state is, the later the stage it enters.

6. Epidemiologic Transition Model: Linked to the DTM, in each stage there are different diseases that affect the population. This is related to living conditions, access to health care, and life expectancy. For example, a population within an earlier stage is less industrialized and will experience diseases such as cholera, which can contaminate water sources. However, a population in a later stage will live longer and therefore experience diseases such as Alzheimer's.

⚡ Watch: AP Human Geography - Population Growth and Decline

7. Ravenstein’s Laws of Migration: Although each migrant is unique, there are several characteristics that most migrants share, according to Ravenstein. For example, most migrants tend to travel short distances and migrate in steps. Most migrants are male and single young adults.

⚡ Watch: AP Human Geography -  Migrations

8. Zelinsky Model of Migration Transition: The DTM does not reflect migration patterns, so Zelinsky developed this model to describe the types of migrations that occurs within a country depending on which demographic stage that country is in. For example, in a newly industrialized country in stage 2, the most common migration is rural to urban. However, a later stage country would experience more movement from urban to suburban.

9. Malthusian Theory of Population Growth: In the 18th century, Thomas Malthus theorized that population growth is exponential and will always continue to grow, but food production increases at a linear rate. That means that at some point, there are more people than available food, which means a check on the population growth will happen. These checks include war and famine. Malthus argued that these events that cause widespread death are essentially good because they limit population growth. He wasn't quite right though, because he could not have predicted the massive amount of food we are able to produce because of technology that did not exist during his time. 

Check out our unit 2 study guide!

⚡ Watch: AP Human Geography - Malthusian Theory

Unit 3 Models & Theories: Culture

10. Diffusion S-Curve: Culture and innovation spreads for different reasons, but the S-Curve theorizes the speed at which ideas are adopted. Things start picking up slowly, then become popular quickly, then taper off. Just think about trends like the bottle flip. It was a niche video with early adopters, then caught fire and spread everywhere, and then tapered off forever.

⚡ Watch: AP Human Geography - Diffusion of Culture

11. Language Tree: Languages have developed as offshoots of each other. The Indo-European family tree includes the most languages that have branched off, but there are other smaller trees too!

⚡ Watch: AP Human Geography - Language and Culture

Check out our unit 3 study guide!

Unit 4 Models & Theories: Political Geography

12. Organic Theory: Inspired by none other than Hitler, the organic theory is that states are like living organisms that have life cycles (birth and death) and need "nourishment" in the form of acquiring less powerful states to survive. Without expansion, the state will die.

⚡ Watch: AP Human Geography - Supranationalism

13. Mackinder's Heartland Theory: Related to the Rimland Theory, but Mackinder argued that the key to global power is to rule the heartland Eurasia, which would be Eastern Europe / Russia.

14. Spykman's Rimland Theory: Related to the Heartland Theory, but Spykman argued that the key to global power is to rule the rimland of Eurasia, which includes the UK, India, China.

15. Domino Theory: From the Cold War, this theory stated that if one country "fell" to Communism, all of the surrounding countries would also fall like dominoes. Therefore, it was necessary for democratic countries to  contain  the spread of Communism so that others would not fall.

16. Core-Periphery Model: This model can be applied at different scales and describes the relationship between countries that "have", or the core countries, and those that are "have nots," the periphery. The core countries rely on labor from periphery countries.

Check out our unit 4 study guide!

Unit 5 Models & Theories: Agriculture, Food, & Rural Land Use

17. Von Thunen Agricultural Location Theory: This is super simplified map that shows where different industries are located. The inner circle is closest to the city center and is where the market is located. Outside of that is dairy or other goods that have expiration dates and therefore need to be physically close to the market. Outside of that are forests that contribute heavy materials, so are relatively close to the market. Then the grains and field crops that are lightweight and have long shelf lives. The outermost ring includes livestock which are furthest away from the city because of disease and because they can walk to be transported into the city!

⚡ Watch: AP Human Geography - Types of Agriculture and Locations Around the World

18. Ester Boserup’s Theory:  A revision to Malthus that describes food production will increase in conjunction to population growth because of innovation. There have been at least two key points where food production has spiked because of innovation - the Agricultural Revolution and the Industrial Revolution.

⚡ Watch: AP Human Geography - Agricultural History and Revolutions

Check out our unit 5 study guide!

Unit 6 Models & Theories: Industry & Development

19. Rostow’s Stages of Growth:  This theory states that countries develop their industry in five stages over time. The highest stage is one of high mass consumption where there are tons of goods developed and consumed. 

20. Wallerstein’s World Systems Theory: The relationship between core and periphery countries is related to industrial development. Core countries sell high profit goods to consumers in semi- and periphery countries (less developed). Meanwhile semi- and periphery countries contribute cheap labor and raw materials to produce the goods.

21. Dependency Theory: Basically, the core countries depend on the periphery for labor and raw materials while the periphery depend on the core for goods. This dependency was created because of colonization. As periphery countries were colonized, their subsistence food production was replaced by cash crops and labor for the core countries to develop goods. Overtime, they became dependent on the core countries for food and consumer goods.

22. Weber’s Least Cost Theory: Industries are located where the transportation costs of raw materials to the factory and the finished product to the market are at a minimum. If raw materials are heavier than the finished product, the factory would be located closer to the location of the materials. If the finished product is more costly to transport than the materials, the industry would be located closer to the market.

⚡ Watch: AP Human Geography - Urban Location Theory

Check out our unit 6 study guide!

Unit 7 Models & Theories: Cities & Urban Land Use

23. Christaller’s Central Place Theory: This explains the size and spacing of cities. Essentially, goods and services are located within a threshold distance of the urban center based on how far people are willing to travel for work and consumption. Based on a number of assumptions, it creates a honeycomb of cities surrounded by smaller towns and markets. 

24. Burgess’ Concentric Zone Model: It describes the layout of a city and where people live. In the center of the city is the business district, which is surrounded by layers of industry and residential areas with the most wealth residing furthest away from the center. As the working class moves toward the center, the higher classes move out and commute in.

25. Gravity Model: The movement of people between two places is based on factors of population size and distance. For example, a big city like Chicago is likely to attract commuters from a fairly large radius because of its size, but the further away you get, the more likely people are to travel to other cities such as St. Louis. 

⚡ Watch: AP Human Geography - Changes in Industrial Geography

26. Hoyt’s Sector Model: A city layout where the lower class surrounds the transportation lines, while the higher classes begin in the central business district and radiate out. 

27. Harris & Ullman’s Multiple Nuclei Model : The city formed around the central business district, but other CBDs that are smaller sprout in the outskirts of the city, creating multiple business nuclei.

28. Borchert’s Evolution of the American Urban System: A generalized history of the urbanization of America through innovations in transportation. In the first stage of Sail/Wagon, cities developed near ports and major waterways. Then, by the mid-1800s, the railroads and steamboats led to cities developing on these routes. The early 20th century was characterized by long haul railroads the growth of national railways. Much of the 20th century was then focused on the development of gasoline powered transportation including cars and planes. Since the 1970s, US cities has been developing based on service and information technology sectors (ex. Silicon Valley).

29. Zipf’s Rank Size Rule: A country's second largest city is half the size of its largest. The third largest city is 1/3 the size of the largest city. Basically, the nth largest city is 1/n of the largest city.

30. Bid-Rent Curve: As distance from the city center decreases, the cost of land decreases.

Check out our unit 7 study guide!

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• Published: 27 November 2003

Language-tree divergence times support the Anatolian theory of Indo-European origin

• Russell D. Gray 1 &
• Quentin D. Atkinson 1  

Nature volume  426 ,  pages 435–439 ( 2003 ) Cite this article

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Languages, like genes, provide vital clues about human history 1 , 2 . The origin of the Indo-European language family is “the most intensively studied, yet still most recalcitrant, problem of historical linguistics” 3 . Numerous genetic studies of Indo-European origins have also produced inconclusive results 4 , 5 , 6 . Here we analyse linguistic data using computational methods derived from evolutionary biology. We test two theories of Indo-European origin: the ‘Kurgan expansion’ and the ‘Anatolian farming’ hypotheses. The Kurgan theory centres on possible archaeological evidence for an expansion into Europe and the Near East by Kurgan horsemen beginning in the sixth millennium BP 7 , 8 . In contrast, the Anatolian theory claims that Indo-European languages expanded with the spread of agriculture from Anatolia around 8,000–9,500 years bp 9 . In striking agreement with the Anatolian hypothesis, our analysis of a matrix of 87 languages with 2,449 lexical items produced an estimated age range for the initial Indo-European divergence of between 7,800 and 9,800 years bp . These results were robust to changes in coding procedures, calibration points, rooting of the trees and priors in the bayesian analysis.

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Acknowledgements

We thank S. Allan, L. Campbell, L. Chikhi, M. Corballis, N. Gavey, S. Greenhill, J. Hamm, J. Huelsenbeck, G. Nichols, A. Rodrigo, F. Ronquist, M. Sanderson and S. Shennan for useful advice and/or comments on the manuscript.

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Gray, R., Atkinson, Q. Language-tree divergence times support the Anatolian theory of Indo-European origin. Nature 426 , 435–439 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02029

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Received : 18 July 2003

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Issue Date : 27 November 2003

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/nature02029

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