PALYPLOT is a program that provides a quick, simple method for producing publication-quality pollen and plant macrofossil diagrams with an IBM or compatible desktop computer. The program is menu-driven, simple to use, and allows the user considerable flexibility in the types of drawings produced.
PALYPLOT options include percentage, concentration, and pollen accumulation rate diagrams, exaggerated curves, columns showing the positions of sediment types, pollen zones, and radiocarbon dates, and the ability to plot dated sequences either in terms of absolute sample depth or estimated sample age (Fig.1). PALYPLOT calculates estimated ages by linear interpolation between dated points in the sequence. Diagrams can be plotted using any of several silhouette and histogram variants. Some options can be specified interactively from within the program, whereas others must be specified in a separate control file.
PALYPLOT writes computer-aided-drafting (CAD) instructions to an ASCII text file that can be imported into Generic CADD Level 3 or Generic CADD 5.0. The advantages to this approach are that 1) the diagram can be previewed on a graphics monitor, and, if necessary, modified manually before producing a hard copy, and 2) the CAD program contains drivers for many displays, plotters, and printers, including the HP Laserjet and Postscript printers. CADD 5.0 allows for hardcopy graphics device output to be written to file.
PALYPLOT can be run on any IBM PC/XT, AT, or PS/2 or compatible running DOS 2.1 or later. The CAD program requires a hard disk drive, a graphics adapter, and 640K of RAM is recommended (more for large drawings).
Generic CADD 5.0 is currently available from mailorder vendors for about $225-$250. PALYPLOT will be available on February 1, 1991 for $5 to cover the cost of disks and mailing.
References
Grimm, E. C. 1990. TILIA and TILIA·GRAPH: PC spreadsheet and graphics software for pollen data. INQUA - Commission for the Study of the Holocene, Working Group on Data-Handling Methods Newsletter 4: 5-7.
Maher, L. J., Jr. 1990. Programs useful in the pollen lab. INQUA - Commission for the Study of the Holocene, Working Group on Data-Handling Methods Newsletter 4: 7-10.