Our natural world is full of mysteries and wonders that ignites a desire to solve and learn its history. One of these mysteries that have troubled many humans is the evolution of humanity. Did we in fact evolve from “monkeys”? If so, where is this “missing link” that will illustrate the process?

All over Europe, early human fossils were being found, including Germany and France. England, with no trace of early human remains, felt left out on such a historic event. Were the British driven by pride to have some fossilized evidence to prove that England too was once was an inhabitant of early humans?

In 1912, amateur archaeologist Charles Dawson wrote to Arthur Smith Woodward (Keeper of Geology at the Natural History Museum) claiming that he had found a piece of a human-like skull in the gravel beds at Piltdown. Driven with excitement, the two continued over a summer to find more skull fragments, a jawbone with two teeth, and primitive stone tools. All these findings were taken as evidence of the Piltdown Man. With these fragments, Woodward reconstructed a human with a large brain, ape-like jaw with human-like teeth. Through this evidence, Dawson and Woodard believed that this was an early human relative who lived 500,000 years ago. They names this early human as Eoanthropus dawsoni.

Humans have proven themselves to be pride-driven throughout the course of history. Why else would all the great leaders of civilization strive to conquer other kingdoms, such as Alexander the Great? It makes sense that these men felt the need to find something of evolutionary value just as their neighbors. I also believe that our sense of identity leads us to make hasty conclusions. If someone were to approach you with information about what may be your family history, your first reaction is to accept it. You will try with all of your logic to verify that the information given to you is, in fact, correct. It is possible that the scientific community was so unsure of our human evolutionary past that they were willing to accept any clue and theory.

In the 40 years following, more discoveries of ancient human fossils had been made in Africa, Asia, and Europe. However, none of these discoveries showed the large brain with ape-like jaw of the Piltdown Man. In fact, all the new discoveries suggested that the” jaws and teeth became human-like before the evolution of a large brain.”(nhm.ac.uk) Kenneth Oakley ran a series of fluorine tests, which showed the fossils to be less than 50,000 years old, making it impossible to be a species with ape-like features. Joseph Weiner and Wilfrid Le Gros Clark worked with Oakley to test that the skull and jaw fragments actually came from two different species—a human and an ape. Scratches on the teeth revealed that the teeth have been filed down to make them look as if they are human. Not only that, but they revealed that some of the finds from the site have been stained artificially to match local gravels.

It is inevitable, we are human, and we cannot outrun that fact. The history of our behavior may suggest that we might repeat the same mistake once or twice, but that doesn't mean we cannot learn from our mistakes. This hoax has brought to our attention that a claim can be made, but before accepting or publicizing this theory, thorough testing should be made, if possible. With that in consideration, human factor and error is a very beneficial part of science, and should not be removed. If it weren't for inquisitive humans with the drive to understand the universe, all the sciences that very well exist would not be recognized or studied. If I could take away a life lesson from this, it would be to not rush myself. Even if I am far behind on a given project or research, it is better for me to stay true to facts and not make up stories to better myself or my country. “The truth shall set you free.”(Gospel of John 8:23)

Sources: 

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/science-of-natural-history/the-scientific-process/piltdown-man-hoax/piltdown-hoax-revealed/index.html