Piltdown Hoax

   The Piltdown Man hoax was an elaborate plan to dupe the scientific community into believing that ancient human remains had been discovered in Piltdown, England. The hoax was perpetrated in 1912 by a collector named Charles Dawson. Dawson claimed to have found a skull fragment in a gravel pit; he called on Arthur Smith Woodward, geologist of the British Natural History Museum, to accompany him at the site for further excavation.  They “discovered” skull fragments and a jaw bone. The skull was remarkable in that it appeared to point to a missing link of human evolution. The skull was similar to that of a modern human’s however; the jaw was completely ape-like with flat human teeth.

    The skull was hailed one of the greatest scientific discoveries. Dawson and Woodward were celebrated for their finds as they continued to find more fossils in Piltdown.  An anatomist named Arthur Keefe supported the findings due to the support it led to his theories on early brain development vs. upright walking. Before the hoax, England had not been considered a contender for early hominids thus there was an air of envy surrounding the discovery of ancient humans in other European countries. Those scientific minds who suspected fraud were reluctant to question the validity of the remains and scientific community continued to use Piltdown man as the basis for human evolution in future studies. Years later, remains found in Asia and Africa cast a large doubt on the authenticity of the Piltdown remains due to distinct differences between the specimens which suggested that human evolution began with bipedalism not increased brain size.

            The hoax was discovered in 1949 once scientists used a fluorine test to date the fossils. They were found to be a lot more recent than previously thought by several hundred thousand years.  In 1953 a full scale investigation led to the discovery of the forgery. The skull fragments were found to be stained in an effort to make the specimen appear older and the jaw was found to belong to an orangutan, while the teeth were that of a chimpanzee’s. An examination under a microscope revealed file-marks on the teeth pointing to an obvious attempt at deceit.

   Scientists are not immune to group-think and peer pressure. The scientific community was reluctant to challenge the findings due to the prestige of Woodward and Keefe. They were seen as scientific authorities thus the aversion by many to confront or contest their findings. At the time there was also the notion that scientists were considered to be scholars and gentlemen who valued truth not sensationalism which led to misplaced trust on Woodward and Dawson. By allowing the findings to be published uncontested the scientific process suffered as the theory of human evolution had conflicting findings which puzzled scientists.
    The nature of the scientific process encourages constant verification, sometime even years after the fact. This led scientists to revisit the original findings and investigate once new methods of analysis were invented. Measuring fluorine content in fossils allowed scientists to date the Piltdown remains, revealing the inconsistencies. Modern microscopes also allowed for a closer look at the remains which solidified the falsification of Piltdown Man.

    I don’t believe it to be possible to remove the human factor from science. All data is gathered by humans, even computers need the input of humans to calculate information.  Although humans make mistakes humans also have the unique ability to think abstractly and use the power of deduction which makes for different hypothesis and perspectives which is greatly needed in the scientific process. Peer review is perhaps the most important factor in the scientific process and also requires human examination.  
   It is important not to draw conclusions from unverified sources and to do your own research if possible. Also, once new information comes to light we should review previous held beliefs and theories and constantly test them. The search for truth is much more important than whatever social mores are prevalent as it is the only way humans as a species can advance.