Paleontological Statistics

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PAST (PAleontological STatistics)
Developer(s)Øyvind Hammer, David A.T. Harper, Paul D. Ryan
Initial release2001; 23 years ago (2001)
Stable release
4.13 / May 2023; 1 year ago (2023-05)
Size~30 MB
TypeStatistical analysis
Numerical analysis
LicenseFreeware
Websitewww.nhm.uio.no/english/research/resources/past/

PAST (PAleontological STatistics) is a free software package for statistical data analysis with a focus on palaeontological data.

Development[edit]

PAST's predecessor was PALSTAT, developed by palaeontologists David Harper (University of Copenhagen) and Paul Ryan (National University of Ireland), first for BBC Microcomputer and later for MS-DOS.[1]

The development of PAST started in 1999, the development team consisted of Harper, Ryan as well as Øyvind Hammer (University of Oslo),[2] who is still the maintainer today.[3]

Functions and Operation[edit]

PAST includes functions for data management, data visualisation through graphics, univariate and multivariate analysis procedures as well as linear and non-linear modelling. There are also functions for diversity calculation, time series analysis, geostatistical and stratigraphic analysis.[3]

The operation is basically mouse-controlled. In addition, control via syntax scripts is provided, using a Pascal-like script language.[3]

Usage[edit]

PAST was used for studies in paleontology,[4][5][6][7] forensics,[8] archaeology[9][10] or microbiology.[11]

The software was recommended because it is "... designed specifically for paleontologists"[12] and "... incorporates a vast majority of analytical methods suitable for paleontological and current ecological work".[13]

Further reading[edit]

  • Hammer, Øyvind; Harper, David A.T. (2006), Paleontological Data Analysis, Malden/Oxford/Carlton: Blackwell, ISBN 978-0-470-75071-1
  • Hammer, Øyvind; Harper, David A.T.; Ryan, Paul D. (2001), "PAST: Paleontological Statistics Software Package for Education and Data Analysis." (PDF), Palaeontologia Electronica, vol. 4, no. 1
  • Hammer, Øyvind (2023), PAST - PAleontological STatistics, Version 4.13, Reference manual. (PDF), retrieved 2023-05-10

References[edit]

  1. ^ Hammer, Øyvind; Harper, David A.T. (2006), Paleontological Data Analysis, Malden/Oxford/Carlton: Blackwell, ISBN 978-0-470-75071-1
  2. ^ Elewa, Ashraf M. T. (2011), Elewa, Ashraf M.T. (ed.), "Computational Paleontology", Computational Paleontology, Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer, pp. 1–5, doi:10.1007/978-3-642-16271-8_1, ISBN 978-3-642-16271-8, retrieved 2023-05-24
  3. ^ a b c Hammer, Øyvind (2023), PAST - PAleontological STatistics, Version 4.13, Reference manual. (PDF), retrieved 2023-05-10
  4. ^ Bruner, Emiliano; Ogihara, Naomichi (2018-01-04). "Surfin' endocasts: The good and the bad on brain form". Palaeontologia Electronica. 21 (1): 1–10. doi:10.26879/805. ISSN 1094-8074.
  5. ^ Butler, Dava K.; Esker, Donald A.; Juntunen, Kristopher L.; Lawver, Daniel R. (2020-04-16). "An analysis of fossil identification guides to improve data reporting in citizen science programs". Palaeontologia Electronica. 23 (1): 1–21. doi:10.26879/901. ISSN 1094-8074.
  6. ^ Knauss, Mathew J.; Yacobucci, Margaret M. (2014-03-17). "GIS-based morphometrics". Palaeontologia Electronica. 17 (1): 1–27. doi:10.26879/418. ISSN 1094-8074.
  7. ^ Cascales-Miñana, Borja; Diez, José Bienvenido (2012-02-14). "The effect of singletons and interval length on interpreting diversity trends from the palaeobotanical record". Palaeontologia Electronica. 15 (1): 1–20. doi:10.26879/266. ISSN 1094-8074.
  8. ^ Papaioannou, Vasiliki A.; Kranioti, Elena F.; Joveneaux, Perrine; Nathena, Despoina; Michalodimitrakis, Manolis (2012). "Sexual dimorphism of the scapula and the clavicle in a contemporary Greek population: Applications in forensic identification". Forensic Science International. 217 (1–3): 231.e1–231.e7. doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2011.11.010.
  9. ^ Cardillo, Marcelo (2010), Elewa, Ashraf M.T. (ed.), "Some Applications of Geometric Morphometrics to Archaeology", Morphometrics for Nonmorphometricians, vol. 124, Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, pp. 325–341, doi:10.1007/978-3-540-95853-6_15, ISBN 978-3-540-95852-9, retrieved 2023-05-26
  10. ^ Pante, Michael C.; Muttart, Matthew V.; Keevil, Trevor L.; Blumenschine, Robert J.; Njau, Jackson K.; Merritt, Stephen R. (2017). "A new high-resolution 3-D quantitative method for identifying bone surface modifications with implications for the Early Stone Age archaeological record". Journal of Human Evolution. 102: 1–11. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.10.002.
  11. ^ Margesin, Rosa; Siles, José A.; Cajthaml, Tomas; Öhlinger, Birgit; Kistler, Erich (2017). "Microbiology Meets Archaeology: Soil Microbial Communities Reveal Different Human Activities at Archaic Monte Iato (Sixth Century BC)". Microbial Ecology. 73 (4): 925–938. doi:10.1007/s00248-016-0904-8. ISSN 0095-3628. PMC 5382179.
  12. ^ Brusatte, Stephen L. (2011), Elewa, Ashraf M.T. (ed.), "Calculating the Tempo of Morphological Evolution: Rates of Discrete Character Change in a Phylogenetic Context", Computational Paleontology, Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer, pp. 53–74, doi:10.1007/978-3-642-16271-8_4, ISBN 978-3-642-16271-8, retrieved 2023-05-24
  13. ^ Petrakis, Panos V. (2011), Elewa, Ashraf M.T. (ed.), "The Problem of Instar Numbers in Arthropods", Computational Paleontology, Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer, pp. 179–219, doi:10.1007/978-3-642-16271-8_10, ISBN 978-3-642-16271-8, retrieved 2023-05-24
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