The Piltdown Hoax

       In the 1900’s a hoax was created in the village of Piltdown in London, it was called the Piltdown Hoax.  An amateur archaeologist Charles Dawson began digging in Piltdown and in 1908 he unearthed a skull in a gravel pit.  In 1911 he discovers more fossil fragments consisting of teeth, soon after there was a public announcement stating the fossils were possibly that of a human skull.  Dawson sought the help of a geologist from England named Arthur Smith Woodward and a leading anatomist Arthur Keith to foster his research.  Ultimately, Woodward confirmed Dawson’s discovery was that of a human skull and described the jaw as apelike in shape.  Woodward was a leading geologist during this time and due to his reputation the scientific community deemed the discovery as the remains of an early human as valid.  Eventually, the scientific community believed this discovery provided the missing link between humans and apes shedding great notoriety for England.  This is important because during this time there was extreme pressure to produce an English fossil because every other Super Power countries had already discovered fossilized early human bones. 

       Later in 1953 Dawson’s discovery in Piltdown was revealed to be a fake, as the skull was modern in shape and the fossils appeared to be altered.  As a result of the advances in technology, the Piltown fossils were tested for its fluorine content, sparking the beginning of the controversy.  The fluorine test of 1949 revealed the fossils were younger than initially claimed.  Better dating methods made it apparent that the stain on the skull was superficial and a steel knife was used to cut the bone.  Furthermore, scientists utilized new technology such as the microscope, to look at the teeth and they discovered the teeth had been filed down, the teeth had fillings, and had deep scratch marks. The data from the new technology revealed that the jaw bone belonged to an orangutan.  All this evidence pointed to one conclusion, that the Piltdown Man was a fake fossil and a hoax.   

       What partially inspired Dawson’s rash enthusiasm for his discovery was his pride, however there were social and political factors supporting the hoax.  Such pride and external factors help to explain the human factor which was involved in the Piltdown hoax.  It is possible to remove the human factor in scientific research by questioning, verifying the facts, and utilizing credible tools before deciding if data is reliable as these are positive aspects of the scientific process; doing this will help to decrease the amount of errors in the data and outcomes of the research.  I would want to remove the human factor from science as scientific research is an advanced and complex skill.  It requires critical thinking as well as an understanding of the complexity of research design and analysis.  If human factors interfere with the primary study it will decrease both the internal validity and external validity of the research.  The Piltdown Man demonstrates the failures of scientific knowledge as a result of wishful thinking, professional courtesy, and bias.  It is imperative that the new dating technology (of that time) was utilized to measure the data which included microscopes and a series of fluorine testing completed by Kenneth Oakley which revealed the accuracy of the data.    

        The life lesson learned from the Piltdown hoax is that research is judged by trustworthiness and credibility of the results.  Threats to the validity of the research can be minimized by creating a logical argument, proper data collection, use of proper tools of measurement, and controlling bias.  Therefore, it’s imperative a valid research study is one in which there is sufficient evidence to support the claim excluding the human factor.