Cultural complexity is one of the most commonly used variables in
cross-cultural research. It has often been used as a measure of
cultural evolution and has been shown to correlate with numerous
other variables. At least eight measures of cultural complexity have
been constructed since the late 1940s. The purpose of this article is
to examine three of them, those proposed by Carneiro, Murdock and
Provost, and Naroll. Particular attention will be devoted to the
validity of these measures. Factor analysis and reliability analysis
indicate that Murdock and Provost's index, designed for use with
the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample, although reliable, has two
dimensions rather than one and may lack content and construct
validity. A case is made for the use of the logarithm of the size of the
largest settlement in a society as a measure of cultural complexity,
as suggested by Naroll.
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