It was 1912 in a small town named Piltdown, England when ammature archeaologist Charles Dawson claimed to discover a piece of an ancient human skull. Dawson soon called on the help of Arthur Smith Woodward and Father Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and the three of them found several more bones that belonged to the same skull. The bones found were ape-like and human-like and they were the first of their kind to be found in England. It was a link that tied humans and apes, the findings were named Piltdown Man. This was big news for scientists and it was likely to answer a lot of questions for the ancestry of human and apes. The thought was that these bones belonged to the oldest of all human ancestors. Those in the community who did not believe in the findings of Dawson did not have much room at all to speak out against him, for Dawson and his work were prestigious and not to be challenged. After the death of Dawson in 1916, the findings stopped and findings in other parts of the world were looking like Dawson’s findings may have been a hoax. In the end, it was only a distraction that led researchers and scientists down a dead end road.
Between the excitement of the find and the fear of questioning the legitimacy, the bones were not challenged, but they were idolized. Instead of thinking critically and using the scientific process, the people of this time and place accepted the idea that Dawson had just discovered this ancestor of humankind.
After WWII, scientists were able to measure the fluorine content of fossils and get a better idea of how old they were. In 1949, the Piltdown bones were tested and found to be much younger than originally estimated. In 1953, even more advanced methods of dating were used to find that the bones were less than 100 years old and that the staining was artificial. Testing also found the cuts of the bones to be made with metal tools.
As long as humans are “doing science”, there is no way to remove the human from the research. This means human emotion, error, opinion, and fault. Though it is the human factor in science that drives new ideas and new discoveries. All we can do to avoid future mistakes is learn from past mistakes and remain critical and open-minded of all scientific discoveries. The scientific method is an important process!
Life Lesson: This story probably has little to no effect on most people reading it, but we can take away something from it. It is important to question everything and form your own opinions. Do your own research and never follow blindly. When the research is above our heads, we must know who to go to for reliable advice and information. We have so many resources at our fingertips today!
