PALANTH Chronicle

[Jacques Cinq-Mars]

All,

This new topic is being set up as a time saving device (for us all) that will serve to provide all concerned individuals with regular status reports on the undergoing development of the Journal itself. It will be available until the latter becomes fully functional and online, with the mid December Inaugural Issue. Hopefully, it will be of use to members and guests of the Forum, as well as to all interested individuals who are presently being told of the existence of our PALANTH project through our ongoing information and recruitment campaign. Please, do not hesitate to make full use of it with your questions, comments, and suggestions. The next post will deal with the present status of the recruitment campaign.

My best,

Jacques Cinq-Mars (on behalf of the Editorial Committee).

[Jacques Cinq-Mars]

All,

With apologies for the perfectly expectable delay,  here is a short status report on the Journal which should be of interest to some of you.

First, you should note that some of the information presented in our "recruitment poster"< http://www.palanth.com/preview/ >, is regularly updated, and this, with specific references to the "Advisors" and "Correspondents" listings. The slow, but nonetheless constant increase in numbers (not to mention the valuable expertise of the individuals who have accepted to work with us on the project) can be viewed as indicative of a definite interest on the part of the research community at large.

Slow in getting started, the "recruitment campaign" is now well underway and already showing signs that it is drawing the interest of an increasingly large number of individuals. This is shown by a clear and steady increase in the number of  "guest" visiting the Forum (I suppose one would hope that this would normally lead to a corollary increase in stimulating discussions, but ... !) and by a series of mostly positive, enthusiastic responses to our invitation, including a few subscription and/or subscription commitments, as well as a few tentative proposals for very interesting future contributions.

Also, the contributions that will make up the Inaugural Issue (which we would still like to have online in about a month from now)
are steadily coming in and being processed. Taken together, what is being worked on and what has already been submitted includes a lengthy editorial, a small series of "Scientific News", a number of congress/symposium/conference reports, a few book review, at least two substantial articles, and one research report.

Finally, it should be noted that the safe/protected system that will allow subscriptions & payments by credit cards is expected to be in place in about two weeks from now.

All in all, it is beginning to look as if we will be in a position to come up with a fairly good demonstration of the effectiveness of  PALANTH's approach.

More in a short while.

Jacques Cinq-Mars (on behalf of the Editorial Committee).

[rich]

 Hi -  Good news on the journal front Jacques. I think that there are more than myself waiting the opportunity to subscribe on line, for the download form was not particularly user friendly, IMHO. I will watch out for more news on this subscription idea.
Regards.  Rich.

[Forum Administrator]

the download form was not particularly user friendly

Thanks for the reply, Rich.

I would greatly appreciate more information on your experience with the download form so that we can make it better for future users.

Thank you for your feedback!

Palanth Admin.

[lagarvelho]

Rich and all:

I didn't have any particular problem downloading the form.  I didn't think it was particularly "user unfriendly", but maybe my printer was just being unusually nice.  I don't know.  I haven't sent it in yet, in part because my computer decided it didn't want to connect to the Internet and it's currently being fixed so it will. . . but that's another story.  As I say, I have no probme.  Yet, anyway.
Anne G

[rich]

HI Jacques,
My only problem with the form, unless I could not see wood for trees, was it was only in US$ , not that I have anything against the dollar. Also it required a cheque or something. Can we have a traansaction via card to make it more tracable, and easier, or am I just a lazy good for nowt. Rich

[Jacques Cinq-Mars]

HI Jacques,
My only problem with the form, unless I could not see wood for trees, was it was only in US$ , not that I have anything against the dollar. Also it required a cheque or something. Can we have a traansaction via card to make it more tracable, and easier, or am I just a lazy good for nowt. Rich

Not that it matters very much, but from the little sequence of posts that preceded this last intervention of yours, I would say that the answer to your last question is pretty obvious.

Jacques Cinq-Mars

[Jacques Cinq-Mars]

All,

Just to let you know that after having been delayed by a variety of technical and "people" reasons (not to mention a rather hectic Holiday Season) the Inaugural Issue is getting fairly close to launching. Not as electronically thick as I was hoping (people reasons, here, it is always someone else’s fault!), it should nevertheless serve, both in terms of its design and content as a good and, hopefully, effective illustration and demonstration of what we are all trying to do with PALANTH and of things to come.

A few more images to be processed and reviews to deal with and, and it will be out. Give or take, in about two weeks from now. This issue will contain, among other things:

- a lengthy and somewhat eclectic Editorial
- a series of research News;
- reports on symposia, colloquia and exhibits;
- book reviews;
- an article on the Fujimura affair;
- a first letter to the Editors.

Note also that the first 2003 official, i.e.,  by subscription, issue (Vol. 1, No. 1) is scheduled to come out in March and, if all goes well, the other numbers are being planned for June, September, and December.

À bientôt,

Jacques Cinq-Mars (on behalf of the Editorial Committee).

[Jacques Cinq-Mars]

All,

As expected, one of the major problem PALANTH (the Journal) has been confronted with has to do with the development of a steady supply (and a reserve) of contributions -- i.e., Scientific News, Research Notes, Articles, Reviews of various kinds, etc. -- in parallel to the ongoing organization of a functional internal operational structure necessary for the publication of such material. Needless to say much remains to be done with regards to the latter and I do not doubt that progress in this area will  be made as we move along with, hopefully your collective support.

At this time, I would not mind if this support were to manifest itself by suggestions regarding the former, i.e., content.  Keeping in mind what has been said about the orientation and purpose of PALANTH (see: http://www.palanth.com/preview/), you can read the present note as:

- a call for papers (Research News, Research Notes, Articles, Reviews, etc.);

- a call for suggestions of specific palaeoanthropological topics that you would like to see addressed in future PALANTH issues, either in the context of specific articles or that of thematic issues that, given sufficient material and resources, could even be published as "special issues".

Hoping for positive feedback, many thanks in advance from the Editorial Committee and myself,

Jacques Cinq-Mars

PS   Feel free to respond online or offline.

[Jacques Cinq-Mars]

For your information, and further to my earlier brief comments of the status of the Inaugural Issue, you can read (below) a more detailed overview of what it will include.

Jacques Cinq-Mars

PALANTH – International Journal of Palaeoanthropology

Content of the Inaugural Issue

Editorial including:
- Miscellaneous comments
- Obituary – Jia Lanpo

Article (The Fujimura Affair).

Research Note (Sardinian UP dates)

Research Note (Ancient Japanese Polished Stone Axes).

Report: The International Palaeoanthropology Conference held in Mexico City, 7-9 August, 2002.

Report:: “IV Reunión Nacional de Geoarqueología” – Soria, Spain, September 16-18, 2002.

Report: Towards a Definition of the Aurignacian – Symposium held in Lisbon, Portugal June 25-30, 2002.

Report: The Gravettian along the Danube -- Mikulov, Czech Republic, 20-21 November 2002

Report: ICAZ 2002: Archaeozoological Meetings Held in Durham (U.K.).

Book Review: Le Gisement Quaternaire de Pedra Furada (Piauí, Brésil). Stratigraphie,  Chronologie, Evolution Culturelle.

Book Review: The First Americans – In Pursuit of Archaeology’s Greatest Mystery. J.M. Adovasion with Jake Page

Letters and Comments: The Dampier (Australia) Petroglyphs Under Threat.