This study was a comparative analysis of the highly structured legal systems of the state of Indiana and the United States of America and the unwritten legal systems of the Ashanti, Barotse, Buganda, and Nuer tribes of Africa. The purpose was to review the similarities and differences in the way in which those legal systems are structured, the way they function, and the scope of their impact on their respective societies.Complex societies have governmental entities which perform different functions in the legal system, but tribal societies tend to have people who perform multifunctional roles. The key is to observe the system to see what functions are being performed, and not to observe the system only to see if the same types of entities are performing the functions in simple societies as in complex societies.The “law is whatever is needed in a particular society. Dispute resolution must be accomplished, but the absence of a formal system does not mean the there is absence of law. / Department of Anthropology