PAST (PALEONTOLOGICAL STATISTICS) - COMPREHENSIVE TEACHING AND RESEARCH PACKAGE FOR PALEONTOLOGICAL DATA ANALYSIS

Computer-based data analysis is now a standard part of the paleontologist's toolbox. This wide field covers subjects such as cladistics, ecological data analysis, morphometrics, quantitative biostratigraphy, time series analysis and spatial statistics. The free software PAST (Paleontological Statistics) for Windows has been developed as part of a package intended both to introduce these subjects to students and professionals, and as a fully operational research tool. After continuous development through five years, the program now includes almost one hundred well-tested modules, in an easy-to-use spreadsheet environment with graphical and numerical output throughout. The modern user interface and full integration with the desktop makes the learning process easy, leaving more time for understanding and experimentation. The package also includes a number of worked case studies and exercises with real data sets, a manual and an email user group with about 400 members, all available on the web at http://folk.uio.no/ohammer/past. A companion book called "Introduction to palaeontological data analysis" is in press. PAST has been downloaded by several thousand researchers and students in different fields, and is used in numerous courses worldwide.