Pause 3 -The Piltdown Man Hoax

In 1912, Charles Dawson assertes that he found a jawbone and cranial fragment in a pit in Piltdown, England and for more then 40 years, many scientific articles were written on "Piltdown man", many interpretations and drawing were made as the fossil was presented as important evidence for human evolution. Piltdown Man (Eoanthropus Dawsoni) was once thought to be a "missing link" between man and ape. The discovery was proven to be a deliberate hoax in 1953. It`s was obviously a deliberate hoax.

Piltdown Man consisted of two human skulls, an orangutan jaw, an elephant molar, a hippopotamus tooth, and a canine tooth from a chimpanzee. Sir Kenneth Oakley has determined the human skulls to be approximately 620 years old. They may have belonged to Ona Indians from Patagonia, as the skulls were unusually thick. Thick skulls are a common trait among Ona Indians. The orangutan jaw is around 500 years old, perhaps from Sarawak. The elephant molar is thought to be from Tunisia. The hippopotamus tooth is thought to have come from Malta or perhaps Sicily. The canine tooth belonged to a Pleistocene Chimpanzee. 

The Piltdown remains were purposefully scattered around a quarry in Piltdown, England, so that they could be "discovered" later as evidence for evolution and the development of man from ape. The skulls had been treated with acid. All of the fossil remains were stained with an iron sulfate solution. The canine tooth was painted brown and patched with bubble gum. The molars were filed down. The portion of the orangutan jaw that connected the jaw to its skull was carefully broken so as not to show evidence that this jaw did not belong to a human skull.

Piltdown Man was obviously a deliberate hoax. Upon critical investigation, the hoax was exposed very quickly. However, the "find" was not investigated properly until forty-years after the initial "discovery". This was due primarily to the excellent credentials held by the men who made the "discovery." Very few experts ever suspected fraud. 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 developed until many years after the hoax. However, the file marks upon the teeth, and the fact that the "wear" was backward, would have been immediately obvious upon any inspection from the very beginning. 

- Pada tahun 1912, tengkorak "Piltdown man" telah ditemui dan didakwakan bahawa ia adalah evolusi antara monyet dan insan. Para saintis dan pengikut fahaman evolusi terutamanya dari Britain begitu bangga dengan penemuan ini dimana ia dijadikan sebagai bukti buat evolusi dan ia juga menunjukkan bahawa orang Inggeris lebih awal serta lebih bijak dari bangsa lain lantaran bukti evolusi dari tengkorak "Piltdown man"ini. 

Namun 40 tahun kemudian, ia didapati suatu penipuan iaitu tengkorak insan disatukan dengan tengkorak haiwat. Sir Kenneth Oakley menyatakan, tengkorak tersebut hanyalah berusia 620 tahun dan tulang bahagian gigi bawah adalah berasal dari orang hutan. Penemuan ini benar-benar merupakan suatu peristiwa besar yang memalukan para saintis dan tercatit didalam sejarah insan. Dimana juga dalam tempoh ini, begitu ramai insan telah menjadi atheis lantaran mempercayai akan proses penipuan evolusi ini. Mungkinkah pendaratan insan kebulan yang menelan belanja 30 billion US diwaktunya, juga akan mengalami pendedahan penipuan seperti ini sekiranya didapati bahawa benar insan belum sampai kebulan?

- Link: Museum of hoaxes