The Piltdown Hoax

1:The Piltdown Hoax occurred during a prime discovery of (believed to be at the time) human fossils by the British paleontologist, Charles Dawson, dating in 1912. Dawson, along with Woodward, an archeologist, and French priest Teilhard de Chardin, managed one day to find fossils that were believed to be representative of a human being. When first observed, the fossil in question was that of a deteriorating jaw bone, making note of the flat and smooth molars. This was a massive achievement due to how very little was known of human fossil remains at the time in Britain; it was a great leap towards proving that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution was correct. However, in the year 1953, news hit that "Piltdown" man, as the fossil was termed, was actually a fake! When tested, it had been confirmed that the fossil was indeed a makeshift; the jaw and skull were actually stained, while the teeth were filed down to appear as though they belonged to a human. This place major criticism upon British scientists, labeled as being gullible and impractical in their length of analyzation of the Piltdown man.


2: Indeed, many times have our faults as human beings display malpractice or bias within the scientific community. Although it is true that scientists in modern days make an effort to keep them away, examples such as the Piltdown Hoax serve to show that scientists are capable of great mistakes and error. The human faults of over-observation and that of under-analyzing cost the British scientists a lengthy and proper analysis, to which they would not have been discredited and ridiculed as they are in modern day. In the haste and moment of discovery, we as humans lean on recognition without speculation or second guessing. This is what I believe the Piltdown Hoax is a good representation of.


3: The scientific observation of the Piltdown man were taken over a full series of experiments and tests. One such portion of these tests was a fluorine absorption test, which ultimately proved that the Piltdown man fossil had been stained to mark its appearance. It is unknown why the skull was stained, interestingly enough, but it is also intriguing to notice that not a single scientist had realized this issue prior to the discovery that the fossil was indeed a hoax. Another such test was the the view of the teeth located on the mandible under microscopic view. The teeth were found to have been filed down to create a flat look resembling the structure of human teeth; scratches were found on the individual teeth, likely the product of scraping done by some sort of tool.


4: Through the use of technology would be the only way I can see the "human" factor being removed from scientific studies. Computers can be assigned randomization codes that could observe several process randomly and assert probabilities over theories that we as humans have observed. The technology would be capable of removing bias from the study provided that the humans who input the data are not placing in biased data itself. I believe that to reach the truest form of a theory or understanding of a field of science, removal of the human factor is necessary so that we cannot bias ourselves or create a margin of error. Perfect science does not bend to the view of humans; it should not bend to any factors other than those that create it.


5: Perhaps the most basic view is that we are not to take observations at base values, especially within a scientific field. Dawson has had his name tarnished for the rest of written history due to this oversight in the onset of discovery. In the excitement, we must remember to be practical and overlook no boundaries in our discoveries. It is better to take the long road and figure out all points of analysis before boldly proclaiming limited information.