Piltdown hoax

1. Begin by giving a brief synopsis of the Piltdown hoax, including when and where it was found, by whom, and varying affects this had on the scientific community.  Also include how the hoax was discovered and the varying responses it received from the scientist(s) involved and in the related fields of human evolution. (5 pts)

Charles Dawson discovered the “Piltdown hoax” in 1912 in the village of Piltdown. The fossil skull was believed to be the missing link between humans and apes and was dubbed “Piltdown Man”. Piltdown man was very misleading to the science community, which resulted with many additional false claims by those analyzed it. When younger fossils were uncovered in Asia, Piltdown Man’s validity was questioned, as the new fossils lacked many of the human skull features that Piltdown Man had. The hoax brought attention to the fact that not all scientists are honest and not all of their work is genuine, which they were believed to be at the time.

2. Scientists are curious, creative and persistent by nature, but being human, they also have faults. What human faults come into play here in this scenario and how did these faults negatively impact the scientific process? (5 pts)

While scientists are curious, creative and persistent by nature, they are also human, so they are not exempt from having a few faults. One human fault that was evident in the Piltdown man scenario is jealousy. When Germany found the “Neanderthal”, Germany became the birthplace of man. Britain, wanting to hold the title of being the birthplace of man, forged the Piltdown man. This negatively impacted the scientific process because someone unknown felt the need to create the Piltdown man and make others believe it was real. Another human fault that was evident in the “Piltdown hoax” is gullibility. Scientist of Britain were extremely naive for believing the Piltdown fake was real and not questioning it until 40 years after it was discovered. It wasn't until 1949, when the fossils were dated using the fluorine absorption technique, that the authenticity of the "discovery" was called into question. It is true that the fluorine test was not around until many years after the hoax. However, the file marks upon the teeth, and the fact that the "wear" was backward, should have alerted other scientists right away.

3. What positive aspects of the scientific process were responsible for revealing the skull to be a fraud? Be specific about scientific tools, processes or methodologies that were involved in providing accurate information about the Piltdown skull. (5 pts)

With the aid of the fluorine absorption technique, scientists discovered that the skull belonged to an orangutan. The skull dated back less than 100 years, which means it wasn’t ancient at all. The bones were also determined to have chromic acid stains and iron solution alterations to make them look older. After further analysis it was also proven that the teeth had been filed down, as well as pieces of the jaw bone broken off to resemble that of a human.

4. Is it possible to remove the “human” factor from science to reduce the chance of errors like this from happening again? Would you want to remove the human factor from science? (10 pts)

I do not think that it is possible to remove the “human” factor. Human beings have such great determination to want to be the first to discover things and I extremely doubt that the desire will ever disappear. In order to prevent situations like this from happening again, it would be wise to always authenticate one’s work before proceeding. I would definitely not want to remove the human factor from science; otherwise scientists would not have the opportunity to be recognized for their findings that ultimately advance us as species.

5. Life lessons: What lessons can you take from this historical event regarding taking information at face value from unverified sources? (5 pts)

The lesson that I would take from this historical event would be; to verify and double check everything in order to make sure that my claims and results are truthful, so that I can have integrity.