One journal to bring them all, and in the fossils bind them

When I was just an undergrad determined to study fossil primates back in the 1990s, I could only dream of publishing in the Journal of Human Evolution (JHE) someday. Surprisingly, my wish materialized soon thereafter in 2000, but it took me another decade to suspect I would eventually join the journal's Editorial Board as Associate Editor (AE). When I was invited in 2012, I felt deeply honored, but the possibility to become co-Editor-in-Chief did not cross my mind for a second. Yet this happened in 2017–2020. Serving as JHE editor was an exciting privilege that I do not regret, but I must confess that these four years were the most intense and exhausting of my entire life. Now, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of JHE, after several hundred manuscripts edited and happily retired from my former role, with the reassurance to have left the journal in very good hands, I am utterly pleased to share my perspectives about the past, present, and future of JHE.

In a time like ours, when the scientific publication system is permanently on the verge of a major upheaval, a journal that survives for half a century without the support of a scientific society is a bit of an oddity that deserves some reflection. Admittedly, the journal is owned by a major publisher, but this is a sine qua non that does not guarantee long-term survival. Only if we identify the factors that led to the journal's flourish and its subsequent consolidation—arguably, as the leading venue for original paleoanthropological research—may we hope to take the right decisions to secure its persistence in decades to come. I discuss below the three main ingredients that, in my opinion, constitute the journal's recipe for success, together with current challenges, prospects for the future, and a final reflection about the ultimate purpose of JHE.

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