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Wesleyan University Archaeology & Anthropology Collections Hominin Fossil Casts |
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Species Designation: N/A ID/ Nickname: Piltdown Man Catalog #: 2003-8-2 A and B Description: reconstruction of "Piltdown Man" hoax cranium and mandible |
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Wesleyan University Archaeology & Anthropology Collections Hominin Fossil Casts |
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Species Designation: N/A ID/ Nickname: Piltdown Man Catalog #: 2003-8-2 A and B Description: reconstruction of "Piltdown Man" hoax cranium and mandible |
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Context of Discovery:
Charles Dawson's "Dawn Man" was found in a gravel pit in Sussex, England in 1912 (the first of two discoveries; the second occurred in 1917). It was unearthed near the teeth of extinct animals dated at 5 million years old.
Facts about "Piltdown Man":
"Piltdown Man" influenced and misdirected anthropological theory for over 40 years by supporting the belief that a larger brain led the evolutionary way toward modern humans. It also contributed to the original rejection of the Taung Child, with its "human" jaw and "ape" brain, which is the reverse of what "Piltdown Man" suggested. However, "Piltdown Man" didn't seem to fit with the new discoveries of Australopithecines and Homo erectus. The skull bones of "Piltdown Man" were considered genuine for over 40 years until 1953, when J.S. Weiner, Wilfred Le Gros Clark and Kenneth Oakley exposed "Piltdown Man" as a hoax. It was actually just a modern human cranium with the mandible of a orangutan, buried along with bones of extinct animals. The black portions of the skull indicate the original finds.
Important Publications:
Millar, R. 1972. The Piltdown Men. New York: St. Martin's Press.
Spencer, F. 1990. Piltdown: A Scientific Forgery. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Weiner, J. S. 1980. The Piltdown Forgery. London: Oxford University Press.
