"Recent work has sought to assess the extent to which tribal population size and environmental risk are distinct drivers of technological complexity among hunter gatherers. We're seeking to collapse this debate by exploring complexity through the lens of the cultural brain hypothesis. For instance, technological complexity appears to correlate with environmental risk -- might it be that environmental risk leads hunter gatherer communities to interact more with their neighbors, thereby increasing the size of their cultural brain and increasing the likelihood that they will have access to technological innovations?

We'll present some initial results, and solicit feedback on our proposed analyses. How should we be thinking about complexity, inter-group interaction, and environmental risk among hunter gatherers?"