Piltdown Hoax

The Piltdown hoax occurred in 1912 in the village of Piltdown, England. Charles Dawson made a discovery that was thought to have changed the perception of human evolution. Among many of his findings in the village of Piltdown, Dawson “discovered” an ape like jaw bone that contained human like teeth and then preceded to discover other fragments of the skull. His findings were said to prove that the big brain evolved before man could walk upright. With the backing of Arthur Smith Woodward no one questioned these findings. It wasn’t until 1949 when scientists used a new method of fluorine testing that proved the skull was about 100,000 years old, in 1953 the first full scale analysis on the fragments revealed that they were indeed forged. The teeth had been filed down, parts had been removed that did not match the skull, and the jaw bone was discovered to be less than 100 years old and be that of a female orangutan. Scientists were shocked that someone would forge artifacts for prestige and resolved to discard the discovery and proceed with “good science”.

As the discovery was proven forged, it became widely understand that human fault and error played more roles than one in this misleading discovery. Greed and national pride overtook Dawson and is thought of as his main motive. However, one must not forget that other scientists played a part in the hoax also. By not fully analyzing the skull before and assuming that it was a true finding scientists enabled themselves to be fooled, and allowed it to change the course of all their studies despite the controversy behind it.

Once the scientific process was put in motion it began to prove the fraudulent findings. The discoveries made in Asia and Africa by scientists who used the correct process began to raise questions about the Piltdown Man. In 1949 a new process that used fluorine content to date fossils revealed that it could not be more than 100,000 years old and paved the way for a second full analysis of the fossils. With more advanced technology, scientists were able to date the jaw bone only 100 years old, and by looking through a microscope they found the teeth had been filed down, along with some of the bones in 1953.

To avoid these occurrences form ever happening again one may think of removing the human factor altogether. Although this may seem like the best solution, one must remember that errors occur through technology as well, humans create the technology used in science, so one must not forget that technology is not always perfect. Personally, I would not remove the human factor from science, because I believe that it something that cannot be replaced. I would actually suggest more human involvement in the process, the more people who examine an artifact the more accurate we can be.

There is a lesson that was learned through the Piltdown Hoax, scientists are flawed and may have ulterior motives. Before the hoax, scientists were thought of as gentleman and scholarly and were not questioned. We know now that anything is possible, making scientists more aware. The Piltdown Hoax personally taught me to always question where I get my “facts” from and if there was a chance they were forged.  I think this is most important now in the internet age as many people search the internet for an answer and walk away with the wrong information not suspecting a thing.