Renfrew's hypothesis links three language families to regions around the Fertile Crescent. Which lists correctly identifies these language families?

Renfrew's hypothesis links three language families to regions around the Fertile Crescent. Which lists correctly identifies these language families?

• A. Europe's Indo-European languages; North African and Arabian languages; languages in present-day Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India
• B. East Asian, South Asian, and Sub-Saharan African
• C. Uralic, Dravidian, Altaic
• D. Afro-Asiatic, Sino-Tibetan, Austronesian

Answer: (A)

Renfrew’s hypothesis argues that farming spread from the Fertile Crescent carried language families with it. The three families tied to that diffusion are Indo-European (in Europe), Afro-Asiatic (in North Africa and the Arabian region), and Dravidian (in the Indian subcontinent, including present-day Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India). The option that lists Europe’s Indo-European languages, North African and Arabian Afro-Asiatic languages, andDravidian languages in the Indian subcontinent best matches that pattern. The other choices mix language families in ways not aligned with Renfrew’s proposed spread from the Fertile Crescent.

Renfrew’s hypothesis argues that farming spread from the Fertile Crescent carried language families with it. The three families tied to that diffusion are Indo-European (in Europe), Afro-Asiatic (in North Africa and the Arabian region), and Dravidian (in the Indian subcontinent, including present-day Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India). The option that lists Europe’s Indo-European languages, North African and Arabian Afro-Asiatic languages, andDravidian languages in the Indian subcontinent best matches that pattern. The other choices mix language families in ways not aligned with Renfrew’s proposed spread from the Fertile Crescent.