Piltdown Hoax

            In 1912 near the village of Piltdown located in southeast England, an amateur geologist, Charles Dawson, discovered skull fragments that he believed was from a human ancestor.  Renowned English geologist Sir Arthur Smith Woodward from the Natural History Museum in London joined Dawson on his dig and hoped to discover more fossils during the summer dig.  They found Stone Age tools, animal fossils, and an ape-like jawbone with teeth similar to human teeth.  This was a huge discovery as it connected humans with apes which supported Charles Darwin’s theory. This discovery came at a time when British scientists were desperate to find evidence to support Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.  Germany and France scientists had already discovered fossil ancestors and British scientists were eager to do the same. Sir Arthur Keith, England’s leading anatomist embraced this discovery as it validated his theory of human evolution. He believed that early humans developed big brains before they walked upright.  Scientists now know that the opposite is true. Humans developed big brains after walking upright.

            The Piltdown Man was believed to be about 1 million year old which made it the oldest human ancestor thus far discovered.  In December 1912 at the Royal Geological Society, Woodward made their first public announcement of their discovery.  Paleo-anthropologists worldwide were enthusiastic about this discovery.  The news of Piltdown Man spread around the world from Europe to America, Africa and even to Australia.  Some experts had their doubts that the jawbone and skull were from the same creature.  The articulation bone was broken off so there was no way to see if the jawbone was a true match to the skull.  Over the next couple years Dawson and Woodward made more discoveries including a canine tooth, skull pieces, and another molar tooth.  These findings silenced the skeptics, at least publically.

            During the 1920s and 1930s ancient remains were discovered but these fossils did not align with the Piltdown Man. In 1924, Raymond Dart discovered a skull of an ape-man but its brain was smaller in comparison to the Piltdown so British scientists were not convinced that it was a human ancestor.  

            In the 1940s new technology was developed for dating fossils and in 1949 the Piltdown fossils were tested using the fluorine analysis.  It was determined that the fossils were not 1 million years old but were about 100,000 years old.  In 1953, the Piltdown fossils were retested with better dating methods and a microscope and scientists proved that the jaw was from a female orangutan and was 100 years old.  It was also discovered the teeth were filed down and had been boiled and stained.

            The human faults that came into play during the Piltdown Hoax were the need and desperation of England to discover primitive humans in their country.  Other countries were making discoveries but England was not. This had a negative impact on the Piltdown process. In addition, the Natural History Museum allowed very few to examine the Piltdown fossils.  The fossils were not subjected to a wide study and had they been, I believe the hoax would have been exposed much earlier. 

 

            Today we have new processes for dating fossils which includes fluorine analysis and various chronometric techniques based on radioactive decay. Potassium-40 is widely used by paleoanthropologists to data fossils in the 1 to 5 million year range. Scientists today have numerous tools and tests available but the human factor is still used in the interruption of the tests results and the human factor is used to theorize.

             The fossils that were discovered that did not align with the Piltdown Man should have been examined more thoroughly. However, anything that contradicted the Piltdown fossils at that time were under high scrutiny and dismissed.  A lesson learned from this historical event is that the evidence should be examined by multiple sources even when the discovery is made by someone that is highly respected. The evidence should be studied and analyzed by a group of peers before being dismissed.