Piltdown ManHow fake fossils can be interpreted
by different Social GroupsPresentation by
Marit Heideman and Renato Ponciano
Presentation ESST 2002 - Module 3
Presentation Outline
Introduction Theoretical frame
• Evolutionism• Creationism
The Piltdown man “discovery” Interpretations on Piltdown case Conclusions
Presentation ESST 2002 - Module 3
Theoretical FrameEvolutionism
• Before Darwin– God created Earth; man is a masterpiece of His creation– c. 1800 de Lamarck: Linear Evolution
• After Darwin– Different species stem from the same ancestor (natural
selection, struggle for existence, habitat changes)
God designed species Human just another animal
Controversy
Presentation ESST 2002 - Module 3
Creationism
Theory that appears as a scientific response to evolutionism
Claims that fossils and geological findings do not contradict the Genesis as described in the Bible
Presentation ESST 2002 - Module 3
The Beginning (Eons Ago) Glacial Period? The Present
Day - Age "Day" 1 "Day" 2 "Day" 3 "Day" 4 "Day" 5 "Day" 6
Matter Created Fossils Formed Humans Created Noah's Flood (Perhaps Local)
The Beginning (eons ago) 4004 BC 2348 BC The Present
Gap or Run & Restoration
Perhaps Multiple Cataclysms and Creations 6-day Edenic Restoration
Noah's Flood (Perhaps Local)
Matter and life created Fossils Formed
4000-8000BC ca 3000 BC The Present
Flood Geology Perhaps a Lifeless Earth
6-day Edenic Creation of Life and Humans
Noah's Flood Fossils Formed
(and perhaps even matter)
Source: Numbers, 1992, pp xii-xiii
Creationist Interpretations of Genesis
Presentation ESST 2002 - Module 3
• 1856: Neanderthal Man discovered
• 1859: Darwin’s Origin of Species
• 1908: Discovery of hominid bone fragments in Sussex, England.
• 1912: Public Presentation of Piltdown Man I
The Piltdown Man: Chronology (I)
Presentation ESST 2002 - Module 3
• 1917: Discovery of Piltdown Man II
• 1925: Reports on errors in Piltdown case (ignored)
• 1949: Fluorine Test on Piltdown Bones
• 1953: Exposure of the Hoax: Bones were fixed up!
The Piltdown Man: Chronology (II)
Presentation ESST 2002 - Module 3
Importance of the Discovery
• Evolution theory launched a major search for “the missing link”
• Piltdown Man met theoretical expectations:– Brain size similar to human– Jaws similar to ape
• First major British palaeo-anthropological discovery
Presentation ESST 2002 - Module 3
Exposure of the Hoax
• Piltdown man didn’t fit with the following findings (e.g. Peking man– Homo erectus)
• New dating techniques available around 1940 -fluorine tests- showed bones more recent – Cranium – human (± 1300 AD)– Jaw – Orangutan (± 1500 AD)
Presentation ESST 2002 - Module 3
Why Piltdown Man lived so long?
• Scientific Credentials of the Discovery team• Primitive Analytical Tools available at the
time• Excellent skill of forgery (Gee, H; In Nature
381, 1996)• Matched with what was expected from
theory• Hoax led charmed life.
Presentation ESST 2002 - Module 3
Presentation ESST 2002 - Module 3
Evolution is a Fraud!Interpretations of Piltdown Case
• Creationists:– Piltdown shows how Evolution science is fake– Missing link doesn’t exist (online source, <http://www.pathlights.com>)
• Criticism: Ideological; disqualifies theory based on one case• Evolutionists:
– Piltdown shows how science will develop its own course despite fraud
– Man’s evolution is still a fact: other discoveries confirm theory (Carroll, online source, <http://skepdic.com/piltdown>)
• Criticism: Deterministic view of development of science
Presentation ESST 2002 - Module 3
Conclusions1. Development of science is dependent on available techniques.2. In the Piltdown case, early evidence of fraud was neglected
because scientific community eagerly wanted to find the “missing link”.
Piltdown Hoax doesn’t prove science right or wrong: shows it as a human activity, dependent on contemporary means.
Presentation ESST 2002 - Module 3
Thanks for your
Attention!