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201352 https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.2.N.201352 http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0 2025-05 24 pages LaTone, Alex Marean, Curtis Murray, John Barrett, The Honors College School of Human Evolution & Social Change Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies, Sch This thesis investigates the variation in tool complexity among African hunter-gatherer groups, focusing on the Hadza, Twa, Aka, Mbuti, and Baka. The central research question addresses whether discernible differences exist in the complexity of tools used by these groups across different environmental habitats. To answer this, we employ a modified version of Oswalt's (1977) technounit-based methodology to quantify tool complexity using ethnographic records. Online museum databases and written ethnographic accounts were used to source images and descriptions of the toolkits used by each group, respectively. These tools were identified and classified by function, and their structural and functional components, technounits, were counted based on available descriptions and illustrations in ethnographic literature. The dataset was compiled into Excel spreadsheets for each group, with tool complexity recorded as the total number of technounits per tool. The analysis revealed that while the Hadza and Twa exhibited the greatest diversity in subsistent tool types, the average tool complexity varied considerably: the Baka had the highest average number of technounits per tool, followed closely by the Twa. These results suggest that a higher number of tool types does not necessarily correspond to higher internal complexity. Factors such as environmental context, subsistence strategies, and cultural organization influence the variation in tool design and use. By systematizing and quantifying the material culture of African hunter-gatherers, this study contributes to broader debates in anthropology regarding the relationship between technological complexity, ecological adaptation, and cultural variability in small-scale societies. Ethnography Hunter-gatherer Subsistence Tool complexity Technounits Material Culture Aka Baka Twa Mbuti Hadza Small-scale societies A Comparative Analysis of Tool Complexity of African Hunter-Gatherers