The Piltdown Hoax

1. 1. The Piltdown Hoax took place in the early 1900s in a village called Piltdown, located in southern England. It began when a man, named Charles Dawson, discovered what appeared to be an ancient human skull, dating back possibly one million years, while digging in gravel. Dawson then invited a geologist and a paleontologist to continue working with him, which led to more discoveries. While digging, Dawson found an ape like jawbone that had human like teeth, which had led many scientists to believe that they had found the missing link that would connect apes to humans. These notions were not questioned by any of Charles Dawson and his accomplice’s fellow scientists due to the fact that the discoverers of the Piltdown man were well respected scientists, until the 1920s when scientists discovered ancient remains in other parts of the world. These remains were quite different than the Piltdown man, in that they were younger, but somehow less human. Then in 1949, scientists used a new technology, which required measuring the fluorine content in bones to determine their age, to determine the age of the Piltdown man bones. They found that they were only one hundred years old, with the jawbone belonging to a female orangutan. The bones had been stained to appear ancient and the teeth had been filed down to appear as if they were human. Although Charles Dawson is assumed to be the main suspect in this hoax, his fellow accomplice’s were also though to have possibly contributed along with the newest assumed suspect, Martin Hinton.

2. 2. Probably the biggest flaw that impacted the scientific process in this discovery was that fellow scientists did not attempt to falsify or test the hypothesis/evidence. It seems that the notoriety of Dawson’s accomplice’s earned him a type of trust, in which his findings no longer needed to be tested. The only viable reason for not attempting to falsify Dawson’s findings was that there was not yet a technology to determine the age of bones.

3. 3. The main aspect that was responsible to revealing the true nature of the bones was the fluoride technology, which was used to determine the age of the bones. Using this, scientists discovered first that the bones could only be around one hundred thousand years old. Later, it was discovered that the bones were actually only one hundred years old, and they had been stained and shaped to appear much older.

4. 4. It is not possible to remove the “human” factor from science, nor would I want to. While occurrences like the Piltdown Hoax are bound to happen when the human factor is present, it allows humans to evolve on a social and mental level rather than a physical one. Also, it is impossible to remove the human factor because humans are the ones making the discoveries. While no one person’s answer is one hundred percent correct, we can aim to perfect our outcomes with the help of our many peers shaping the outcome.

5. 5. I feel like everyone can relate to this story. We all have probably been fooled one time in our lives, whether it was a major or minor situation. A lesson that should be learned from this is to always check your sources, or find information for yourself!