Piltdown Hoax

                The Piltdown hoax refers to the findings of a human ancestor, in a small town called Piltdown, made by Charles Dawson and Arthur Smith Woodward in 1912. These two scientist dug up skull fragments, jawbone fragments, and teeth. The jawbone appeared to be similar to the jawbone of an ape, but the teeth were flat just like human teeth. This was a remarkable discovery, and many people were enthusiastic about their new findings. The findings of this hominid was the important pieces that were needed in order to connect the branches between humans and apes.

                Although many people were ecstatic about their findings, there were a few scientists who were skeptical about this. They did not understand how this could tie into the theory of evolution. Fortunately, and unfortunately, in 1949 a professor by the name of Kenneth Oakley used a method of relative dating to further analyze Dawson’s findings. This method is called fluoride absorption dating. This method can be used to determine the age of bones by measuring the amount of fluoride within it. The older the bone, the more fluoride it contains. With this new-found scientific method, Oakley took a fluoride analysis of all the bones Dawson and Woodward found at Piltdown. What he found was astonishing. He discovered that the skull and the jaw fragments did not come from the same time period. The skull was much older than the jaw fragments. After further examination, Oakley also discovered that the skull had belonged to a human, and the jaw belonged to a female orangutan. Furthermore, The National History Museum states, “scratches on the surfaces of the teeth, visible under the microscope, revealed that the teeth had been filed down to look human.” This is clear evidence that the bones and teeth have been altered in order to fool the human population into believing that Dawson found the missing branches between humans and apes.

                The reason for and the perpetrator of this hoax is not known. One can only assume that whoever is responsible did it for fame. The possibility that an ape-like jawbone with human-like skull and teeth could belong to the same being could have been an amazing finding. This could have altered our understanding of evolution. The perpetrator might have thought that he would be known world-wide for his “findings.” He might have made money off of fooling people as well. Luckily, there were skeptics who used the scientific method to put this hoax to rest. Oakley was able to ask questions about the findings. He began to do background research and found that the age of the bones did not match. Finally, he created his own hypotheses and found that the findings were a hoax.

                I believe that you cannot completely remove the human factor from science to reduce the chance of errors. Instances like the Piltdown hoax can and most likely will happen again. The only thing that we can do, is to always ensure that we are asking the right questions and question every new finding. Scientist must continue to test fossils and everything else, in order to maintain good science. If I was able to remove the human factor from science, I would most certainly do so. I just do not find that possible.  The life lesson learned here is that we must not believe everything that people tell us. Before publicizing a scientist’s work, always question and test their findings.