This work demonstrates, for instance, that children can bind the novel word to the correct object even when the experimenter points to an empty location on the table. We have also demonstrated that space is special in facilitating these mappings: Associating the potential referents with unique colors and providing the name in the presence of one of these colors does not support mapping. Furthermore, children learn words better when their parents keep objects in consistent spatial locations when teaching them. Thus, a nonobvious factor—the history of where objects have been placed in a task—matters in young children’s early word learning. This initially surprising finding fits with research showing that both adults and children will look back to the location in which a fact or sound was previously presented when trying to recall that information (Richardson & Kirkham, 2004; Richardson & Spivey, 2000). It is also consistent with the use of space for reference in sign languages and in gestural communication.