Who Was Behind The Piltdown Man Hoax?
In 2013, we celebrated the 100th anniversary of amateur antiquarian Charles Dawson and paleontologist Arthur Smith Woodward’s historic discovery of a possible missing link between man and ape, confirming Charles Darwin’s world-changing works. But it had been about 49 years since their “discovery” was found to be one of the biggest hoaxes to ever fall under the watchful eye of science.
Nicknamed the “Piltdown Man,” due to it being unearthed in the Piltdown gravel pit in Sussex, England, this hoax still holds plenty of interest today, both by scientists able to laugh at the mistakes of their field and by detractors who tout it as an example that science itself is a hoax.
In an issue of Nature, Chris Stringer of London’s Natural History Museum shared his plan to use modern scientific testing methods — such as radiocarbon dating, DNA testing, and other molecular investigations — to try and prove who was the real culprit in the Piltdown Man hoax, and what his methods may have been.
On December 18, 1912, Dawson and Woodward announced they had found jawbone and skull fragments belonging to primitive beings who lived from 500,000 to 1 million years ago.
Other fossils and stone tools were reportedly found. Though doubts and discrepancies were raised, no elaborate testing could be done on the Piltdown Man until almost 30 years later, when fluorine testing proved the findings were no older than 50,000 years. And further carbon dating revealed they were only 600 years old.
Furthermore, the Piltdown Man bones came from different species: the skull fragments were human, while the jawbone, with teeth filed down to appear human, was actually from an ape.
For over 40 years, the Piltdown fossils were hailed as a crucial transitional form between apes and humans, until they were exposed as an elaborate hoax in 1953.
Did Dawson have full knowledge of his false words all along? It sure looks like it. Though quite a few others have made the suspects list, from Woodward’s assistant Martin Hinton to famed author Arthur Conan Doyle, the Piltdown Man hoax evidence points to Dawson as being the fast-talking fame-hound seeking recognition from the scientific elite.
Dr. Miles Russell, a Bournemouth University archaeologist and author of The Piltdown Man Hoax: Case Closed, will present evidence showing Dawson was behind at least 38 other false discoveries throughout his life, aiming for widespread recognition with each.
As much fun as hoaxes can be years down the line, it’s frustrating that this Piltdown Man case, combined with others, allows people to think they can create elaborate schemes, so long as there doesn’t exist a way to test the claims.
Thankfully, empirical evidence has given way to experimental evidence. Now, if only we could figure out a way to prove whether these Morgan Freeman death notices are legit.
