--- title: "Andean Highlands — AP Human Geography Definition & Exam Guide" description: "The Andean Highlands are an agricultural hearth where potatoes and llamas were domesticated, a key example of regional specialization for AP Human Geography Unit 5." canonical: "https://fiveable.me/ap-hug/key-terms/andean-highlands" type: "key-term" subject: "AP Human Geography" unit: "Unit 5" --- # Andean Highlands — AP Human Geography Definition & Exam Guide ## Definition The Andean Highlands are an early hearth of domestication in South America where crops like the potato and animals like the llama were first domesticated, demonstrating how local environments shaped what each region could grow and raise (CED Topic 5.3). ## What It Is The Andean Highlands are a mountainous region of South America that count as one of the world's **[hearths of domestication](/ap-hug/unit-5/agricultural-origins-diffusions/study-guide/0w8PoDg8fpwGgA1KPnjV "fv-autolink")**, the places where people first started cultivating plants and taming animals instead of just hunting and gathering. In the Andes, the big domesticate was the **potato** (around 5000-7000 BCE), along with the **llama** for transport and wool. The AP CED groups domestication hearths together in EK SPS-5.A.1 ([Fertile Crescent](/ap-hug/key-terms/fertile-crescent "fv-autolink"), Indus River Valley, Southeast Asia, Central America). The Andes aren't named in that exact list, but they show up constantly in exam stimulus material as a parallel case in the Americas. The takeaway is the same one the CED wants you to get: different [regions](/ap-hug/unit-1/regional-analysis/study-guide/KBREMrUx0XlbNmfha937 "fv-autolink") domesticated different species because of their local climate and available wild plants and animals. Cool, high-altitude Andes gave the world potatoes; it never produced wild grains the way the Fertile Crescent did. ## Why It Matters This term lives in **[Unit 5](/ap-hug/unit-5 "fv-autolink"): Agriculture and Rural Land-Use Patterns and Processes**, specifically Topic 5.3 (Agricultural Origins and Diffusions). It supports two learning objectives at once. For **[AP Human Geography](/ap-hug "fv-autolink") 5.3.A**, the Andes are a textbook example of identifying a major center of domestication. For **AP Human Geography 5.3.B**, the potato becomes a star player in global diffusion, especially the **Columbian Exchange**, when it spread to cool highland regions of Europe and Asia. The bigger theme is environmental determinism's softer cousin: geography didn't force outcomes, but it heavily shaped what each region could domesticate and later trade. ## Connections ### [Fertile Crescent (Unit 5)](/ap-hug/key-terms/fertile-crescent) Both are domestication hearths, but they're opposites in what they produced. The Fertile Crescent gave the world wheat and barley (grains), while the Andes gave potatoes and no wild grains at all. Comparing the two is the cleanest way to show that geography determined regional agricultural specialization. ### [Columbian Exchange (Unit 5)](/ap-hug/key-terms/columbian-exchange) The potato's story doesn't end in the Andes. After 1492 it crossed the Atlantic and took root in cool highland regions like Ireland, Scotland, and the Himalayas. That's a perfect illustration of EK SPS-5.B.1, how a domesticate diffuses globally and reshapes diets far from its [hearth](/ap-hug/key-terms/hearth "fv-autolink"). ### [Domestication of animals (Unit 5)](/ap-hug/key-terms/domestication-of-animals) The llama makes a great contrast case. Horses domesticated in Central Asia spread across Eurasia and Africa, but the llama stayed locked in South America until European contact. Same idea, different geography: isolation limited how far Andean animals could diffuse. ### [Carl Sauer (Unit 5)](/ap-hug/key-terms/carl-sauer) Sauer's hearth-and-diffusion framework is exactly what the Andes demonstrate. He argued domestication started in specific source regions and spread outward, and the potato's path from the Andes to the rest of the world is that model in action. ## On the AP Exam On MCQs, the Andean Highlands show up in stimulus-based questions that hand you a map or dataset and ask what the pattern means. One common stem shows wild potatoes concentrated in the Andes with wild grains absent, then asks what that suggests about **regional agricultural specialization** (answer: different regions domesticated different species based on local environment). Another contrasts the llama staying confined to South America with horses spreading across Eurasia, testing the **geographic significance of isolation** in diffusion. On FRQs, the 2023 SAQ Q2 used per-capita staple-crop data from hearth-of-domestication countries, so you should be ready to read agricultural data and connect a crop back to its hearth and its diffusion path. ## Andean Highlands vs Fertile Crescent Both are domestication hearths, so it's easy to blur them. The difference is what they produced and where they are. The Fertile Crescent (Southwest Asia) is the grain hearth, wheat and barley, and it's the one explicitly named in EK SPS-5.A.1. The Andean Highlands (South America) is a root-crop and high-altitude hearth, potatoes and llamas, and it shows up mostly as a comparison case. Don't say grains came from the Andes; they didn't. ## Key Takeaways - The Andean Highlands are a hearth of domestication in South America, best known for the potato (5000-7000 BCE) and the llama. - Unlike the Fertile Crescent, the Andes had no wild grains, which shows that local environment determined what each region could domesticate. - The potato spread globally during the Columbian Exchange and thrived in cool highland regions like Ireland, Scotland, and the Himalayas. - The llama stayed confined to South America until European contact, showing how geographic isolation limited animal diffusion. - This term supports both learning objectives in Topic 5.3: identifying domestication centers (5.3.A) and explaining global diffusion (5.3.B). ## FAQs ### What were domesticated in the Andean Highlands? The potato was the major crop, domesticated around 5000-7000 BCE, and the llama was the key animal, used for transport and wool. The Andes did not produce wild grains, unlike the Fertile Crescent. ### Is the Andean Highlands a hearth of domestication on the AP exam? Yes. It's treated as a domestication hearth in South America and appears regularly in MCQ stimulus material, even though it's not one of the regions named verbatim in EK SPS-5.A.1 (Fertile Crescent, [Indus River Valley](/ap-hug/key-terms/indus-river-valley "fv-autolink"), Southeast Asia, Central America). ### How is the Andean Highlands different from the Fertile Crescent? Both are domestication hearths, but the Fertile Crescent produced grains (wheat, barley) in Southwest Asia, while the Andes produced root crops and high-altitude species (potatoes, llamas) in South America. The contrast is the AP point: geography shaped regional specialization. ### Why did the potato spread but the llama did not? The potato traveled the world through the [Columbian Exchange](/ap-hug/key-terms/columbian-exchange "fv-autolink") after 1492 and settled in cool highland climates, while the llama stayed confined to South America until European contact. South America's geographic isolation limited how far Andean animals could diffuse. ### Did the potato come from Europe or Ireland? No. The potato was domesticated in the Andean Highlands of South America and only reached Europe and Ireland after the Columbian Exchange. It became central to Irish and Scottish diets, but its hearth is the Andes. ## Related Study Guides - [5.3 Agricultural Origins and Diffusions](/ap-hug/unit-5/agricultural-origins-diffusions/study-guide/0w8PoDg8fpwGgA1KPnjV) ## Structured Data ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"LearningResource","@id":"https://fiveable.me/ap-hug/key-terms/andean-highlands#resource","name":"Andean Highlands — AP Human Geography Definition & Exam Guide","url":"https://fiveable.me/ap-hug/key-terms/andean-highlands","learningResourceType":"Concept explainer","educationalLevel":"AP® / High School","about":{"@id":"https://fiveable.me/ap-hug/key-terms/andean-highlands#term"},"audience":{"@type":"EducationalAudience","educationalRole":"student"},"dateModified":"2026-06-11T05:58:34.634Z","isPartOf":{"@type":"Collection","name":"AP Human Geography Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/ap-hug/key-terms"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Fiveable","url":"https://fiveable.me"}},{"@type":"DefinedTerm","@id":"https://fiveable.me/ap-hug/key-terms/andean-highlands#term","name":"Andean Highlands","description":"The Andean Highlands are an early hearth of domestication in South America where crops like the potato and animals like the llama were first domesticated, demonstrating how local environments shaped what each region could grow and raise (CED Topic 5.3).","url":"https://fiveable.me/ap-hug/key-terms/andean-highlands","inDefinedTermSet":{"@type":"DefinedTermSet","name":"AP Human Geography Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/ap-hug/key-terms"}},{"@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What were domesticated in the Andean Highlands?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The potato was the major crop, domesticated around 5000-7000 BCE, and the llama was the key animal, used for transport and wool. The Andes did not produce wild grains, unlike the Fertile Crescent."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Is the Andean Highlands a hearth of domestication on the AP exam?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Yes. It's treated as a domestication hearth in South America and appears regularly in MCQ stimulus material, even though it's not one of the regions named verbatim in EK SPS-5.A.1 (Fertile Crescent, [Indus River Valley](/ap-hug/key-terms/indus-river-valley \"fv-autolink\"), Southeast Asia, Central America)."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How is the Andean Highlands different from the Fertile Crescent?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Both are domestication hearths, but the Fertile Crescent produced grains (wheat, barley) in Southwest Asia, while the Andes produced root crops and high-altitude species (potatoes, llamas) in South America. The contrast is the AP point: geography shaped regional specialization."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Why did the potato spread but the llama did not?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The potato traveled the world through the [Columbian Exchange](/ap-hug/key-terms/columbian-exchange \"fv-autolink\") after 1492 and settled in cool highland climates, while the llama stayed confined to South America until European contact. South America's geographic isolation limited how far Andean animals could diffuse."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Did the potato come from Europe or Ireland?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"No. The potato was domesticated in the Andean Highlands of South America and only reached Europe and Ireland after the Columbian Exchange. It became central to Irish and Scottish diets, but its hearth is the Andes."}}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"AP Human Geography","item":"https://fiveable.me/ap-hug"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Key Terms","item":"https://fiveable.me/ap-hug/key-terms"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Unit 5","item":"https://fiveable.me/ap-hug/unit-5"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Andean Highlands"}]}]} ```