a wider North Caucasian family, citing shared vocabulary and typological features as evidence. This proposed family does not usually include the neighboring Kartvelian languages. This hypothesis is not well demonstrated. Connections to Hurrian and Urartian Some linguists—notably Igor M. Diakonoff and Starostin—see evidence of a genealogical connection between the Northeast Caucasian family and the extinct languages Hurrian and Urartian. Hurrian was spoken in various parts of the Fertile Crescent in the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC. Urartian was the language of Urartu, a powerful state that existed between 1000 BC or earlier and 585 BC in the area centered on Lake Van in current Turkey. The two languages are classified together as the Hurro-Urartian family. Diakonoff proposed the name Alarodian for the union of Hurro-Urartian and Northeast Caucasian. Some scholars, however, doubt that the language families are related or believe that, while a connection is possible, the evidence is far from conclusive. Proto-language Below are selected Proto-Northeast Caucasian reconstructions of basic vocabulary items by Johanna Nichols, which she refers to as Proto-Nakh-Daghestanian. {| class="wikitable sortable" ! gloss !! Proto-Nakh-Daghestanian |- | eye || *(b)ul, *(b)al |- | tooth || *cVl- |- | tongue || *maʒ-i |- | hand, arm || *kV, *kol- |- | back (of body) || *D=uqq’ |- | heart || *rVk’u / *Vrk’u |- | bile, gall || *sttim |- | meat || *(CV)=(lV)ƛƛ’ |- | bear (animal) || *sVʔin / *cVʔin / *čVʔin |- | sun || *bVrVg |- | moon || *baʒVr / *buʒVr |- | earth || *(l)ončči |- | water || *ɬɬin |- | fire || *c’ar(i), *c’ad(i) |- | ashes || *rV=uqq’ / *rV=uƛƛ’ |- | road || *D=eqq’ / *D=aqq’ |- | name || *cc’Vr, *cc’Vri |- | die, kill || *D=Vƛ’ |- | burn || *D=Vk’ |- | know || *(=D=)Vc’ |- | black || *alč’i- (*ʕalč’i-) |- | long, far || *(CV=)RVxx- |- | round || *goRg / *gog-R- |- | dry || *D=aqq’(u) / *D=uqq’ |- | thin || *(C)=uƛ’Vl- |- | what || *sti- |- | one || *cV (*cʕV ?) |- | five || *(W)=ƛƛi / *ƛƛwi |} Notation: C = consonant; V = vowel; D = gender affix Possible connections to the origin of agriculture The Proto-Northeast Caucasian language had many terms for agriculture and Johanna Nichols has suggested that its speakers may have been involved in the development of agriculture in the Fertile Crescent