Piltdown Hoax

      The Piltdown hoax became an infamous mystery for scientists beginning in 1912. Amateur archaeologist Charles Dawson, came across a fossil skull (with the help of a laborer) that appeared to be primitive. The piece of the skull was found in a gravel pit in Piltdown, more specifically Sussex, England.  A scientific significance would be that it would have taught us about common lineage between apes and humans. This would be the missing branch that scientists so desperately searched for, a skull that showed both human and ape characteristics. Most of all, it was a discovery that would have given us the answer to the mystery of the earliest Englishman. Scientists were very excited with this discovery because it would mark the U.K as extremely historical and important due to its connection with human evolution. The Piltdown man appeared to be everything scientists expected it to be, which seemed great at the time because it verified their theories. The hoax went unnoticed for various years, but later the truth came into light when other scientists began making discoveries regarding other early human fossils. The fossils found after the Piltdown man confirmed controversy because they did not show to have had a big brain or the same jaw shape as the Piltdown man. This lead to the utilization of advanced technology to look further into the Piltdown fossil. Scientists were extremely humiliated that this went unnoticed for such a long period of time. Those involved working with the skull felt embarrassed that for so long, they were working on something that wasn't real.
      Just like any other human, scientists also have faults. Some of the human faults that came into play in this event were the excitement that blinded scientists from the truth. It was mentioned that people from other parts of the world had already been doubting whether the discovery was true or not, but the scientists involved never really questioned it until much later. There was a lot of pride and a sense of privilege that came along in working with a discovery that impacted the history of human evolution. I think if there wasn't so much pride, then there wouldn't have been a lack of questioning and a lack of wanting to know more. The scientific process should have lead them to keep asking questions regarding the discovery. Nonetheless, how can someone not be excited about a finding like this?
      Scientific tests such as the fluorine test measured the fluorine content of the fossil, and that allowed scientists to date it. After testing the Piltdown man, the results showed that the fossil was about a hundred thousand years old, which was really quite young. Another test was the full-scale analysis which had more accurate dating methods. Scientists realized that the stains on the skull were not real, they were created along with cutting that was involved. With the use of a microscope, they noticed that the teeth on the jaw had been purposely filed down by someone. The jawbone was dated to be less than 100 years old and actually belonged to an orangutan.  Finally, they concluded that the skull was actually made up of both human and orangutan remains. Each discovery of a fault let to another, which eventually determined the Piltdown man as a fraud.
     I don't believe that by removing the "human" factor from science, there will be a reduction of errors like this happening again. I would not want to remove the human factor from science. I think human input is essential important and beneficial in the science world. Although technology and machines can be very accurate, humans are needed to guide the information into a new direction. There is only so much machines can do, and also only so much humans can do. They both go hand in hand to provide us with the most accurate information possible.
      The life lesson that I got from this historical event was to always question information given from an unverified source. No matter how beneficial and life changing the information might appear to be, one must not settle and we must continue to do our own person research before announcing the discovery out to the world. It is good to remain skeptical, especially in the science field, it is much better to be safe than sorry.