Researchers investigated further into why and how humans speak so many languages across the globe, and why they are spread out unevenly. Using two different path analyses, a Stationary Path analysis and a GWPath, researchers tested the effect of eight different factors on language diversity. Out of the eight variables (river density, topographic complexity, ecoregion richness, temperature and precipitation constancy, climate change velocity, population density, and carrying capacity with group size limits), population density, carrying capacity with group size limit, and ecoregion richness had the strongest direct effects. Overall, the study revealed the role of multiple different mechanisms in shaping language richness patterns. The GWPath showed that not only does the most important predictor of language diversity vary over space, but predictors can also vary in the direction of their effects in different regions. They conclude that there is no universal predictor of language richness.

In this study, the authors analyze subsistence economies to better understand their variability and success, the role of the environment in different subsistence choices, and the relevance of fishing, specifically in mixed economies. They find regular subsistence patterns, suggesting that not all subsistence combinations are successful. Their findings also indicate that environment influences subsistence choice, mixed economies are common, and that fishing plays a key role in mixed economies.