Fossil access

[Mikey Brass]

Science 297 (30 August 2002) contains a news focus report titled:

Glasnost for Hominids: Seeking Access to Fossils

"Outside researchers are vying for quicker access to key specimens, but fossil discoverers say they need control over new finds in order to prepare and analyze them carefully."

The article basically concludes that a better balance needs to be brought in with regards to both the rate of publication and maintaining the highest standards of analysis.

From my own experience, which is limited compared with the seasoned pros who visit and post here, it is unacceptable that some publications take three decades (e.g. Singer & Wymer's publication on Klasies River), others over ten years, but yet at the same time comprehensive examination has to take place and this cannot be rushed. It appears to me that the problem may lay in a combination of factors like the limited funding resources available as well as staffing shortages and workload which can arise from the lack of money and other factors, and sometimes protectionism.

What's the answer, I don't know and the participants cited in the Science article don't really know either. what's the best way to ensure speedier publication and access to the fossils without compromising on quality, if the current status quo should even be changed. I'd be interested in other views on this thorny subject ?

[Greg]

It seems to me that to some extent there must be a market working here.  A find is of no value if it  is not published, but its value is diminished if published to quickly, either because quality of the analysis suffers or because there is a certain (but not unlimited) amount of pre-published “milking” that one can do.

If this is so then the key may be to understand and harness these “market forces.”  

[Mikey Brass]

Agreed, Greg. I'm curious though on yours and other people's views on hos, to use your phrase, hese market forces can be more effectively utilised and channeled? There's no easy answer and this has been around for a long time.

There's suggestions in the article of possibly calling an international symposium on this matter. How effective could this possibly be, or wuld it turn into a big heated argument.

[Jacques Cinq-Mars]

Science 297 (30 August 2002) contains a news focus report titled:

Glasnost for Hominids: Seeking Access to Fossils

"Outside researchers are vying for quicker access to key specimens, but fossil discoverers say they need control over new finds in order to prepare and analyze them carefully."

The article basically concludes that a better balance needs to be brought in with regards to both the rate of publication and maintaining the highest standards of analysis.

From my own experience, which is limited compared with the seasoned pros who visit and post here, it is unacceptable that some publications take three decades (e.g. Singer & Wymer's publication on Klasies River), others over ten years, but yet at the same time comprehensive examination has to take place and this cannot be rushed. It appears to me that the problem may lay in a combination of factors like the limited funding resources available as well as staffing shortages and workload which can arise from the lack of money and other factors, and sometimes protectionism.

The title of the Science piece (which I have yet to read) and your brief summary of it should not make us loose sight that the situation under discussion is not one that affects only the highly visible, deep time, and hard core, palaeoanthropology scene, but also that which is dealing with later time periods of the human evolutionary continuum, as well as many other sister and/or complementary disciplines that contribute, at various levels, to our knowledge and understanding of this continuum. While I agree with you that the basic problem, can be seen as one of appropriate funding (or actual lack thereof), I think that, realistically  (i.e., given the present economic vagaries), it is perhaps more important, at this time, to deal, as a community, with those external or peripheral factors (which you also refer to) that affect the overall research process in more or less negative ways. In other words, it is time to put, again as a community, our palaeoanthropological house in order and find imaginative, new ways to deal effectively and economically with the issues under discussion.

Jacques Cinq-Mars

[Jacques Cinq-Mars]

It seems to me that to some extent there must be a market working here.  A find is of no value if it  is not published, but its value is diminished if published to quickly, either because quality of the analysis suffers or because there is a certain (but not unlimited) amount of pre-published “milking” that one can do.

If this is so then the key may be to understand and harness these “market forces.”

I am not really sure I understand what you mean by "market forces". But since I suspect you may be referring to an important analytical concept, would you mind very much expanding a bit on it?

Jacques Cinq-Mars

[Jacques Cinq-Mars]

There's suggestions in the article of possibly calling an international symposium on this matter. How effective could this possibly be, or wuld it turn into a big heated argument.

I think that an "international symposium on this matter" would certainly be of value (who does not like to travel?!), but only if it is designed in such a way as to deal effectively -- as I alluded to in my earlier post -- with the full range of problems that affect palaeoanthropology as a whole and not just only those that are of concern to the highly visible "tenors" of the discipline and their various public and private patrons.

And as an aside, anyone interested in "tenors" and "travel" should read Arthur Koestler's novel entitled "The Call Girls". It is a must. Not only is it rather funny, but it is, after thirty years or so, still very relevant.

Jacques Cinq-Mars

[Mikey Brass]

I think that an "international symposium on this matter" would certainly be of value (who does not like to travel?!), but only if it is designed in such a way as to deal effectivelyJacques Cinq-Mars

How would you design the structure of the symposium and the topics so as to obtain the maximum result for the good of paleoanthropology ?

[Jacques Cinq-Mars]

I think that an "international symposium on this matter" would certainly be of value (who does not like to travel?!), but only if it is designed in such a way as to deal effectivelyJacques Cinq-Mars

How would you design the structure of the symposium and the topics so as to obtain the maximum result for the good of paleoanthropology ?

I don't know. I'll have to think about it all. However, since I presently happen to suffer from a pretty bad and apparently lasting case of "cynicism" (I don't believe it is contagious), I could easily arrive at the conclusion that --  given the rather special cast of competitive and self serving characters one would have to deal with --  such an exercise would essentially be futile. As a matter of fact, I am beginning to think that more positive results will be achieved by more efficient, behind the scene actions, such as, for example, coming up with something like PALANTH!

Jacques Cinq-Mars

[Jane Moore]

Might this be a good symposium topic for the next human palaeontology congress in Barcelona next year? Or is it too late to submit a proposal?

Jane