Changes

The date first assigned to the bones was never based on the bones at all, but rather were based on testing of older material found nearby. This is partially due to the fact that modern dating techniques, like the [[Fluorine Absorption test]], were not yet invented (and indeed, when they were, proved essential to Piltdown man's downfall<ref>[http://www.palarch.nl/NorthWestEurope/nweur_2006_1_1.pdf Annotated Biblography of the Piltdown Man Forgery]</ref>). Like similar artifacts purporting to prove evolution today, there was no independent or public scrutiny of the actual materials.

The date first assigned to the bones was never based on the bones at all, but rather were based on testing of older material found nearby. This is partially due to the fact that modern dating techniques, like the [[Fluorine Absorption test]], were not yet invented (and indeed, when they were, proved essential to Piltdown man's downfall<ref>[http://www.palarch.nl/NorthWestEurope/nweur_2006_1_1.pdf Annotated Biblography of the Piltdown Man Forgery]</ref>). Like similar artifacts purporting to prove evolution today, there was no independent or public scrutiny of the actual materials.

The fluorine method was first carried out in 1949 by Dr. Kenneth Oakley of the British Museum, which initially showed the fossils to have been much younger than fauna remains found in the same area.  The results drew the attention of colleague Professor Joseph S. Weiner, who, along with Oakley and Dr. Wilfrid E. Le Gros Clark, decided upon an exhaustive examination of the bones.  An improved fluorine test was done, as well as testing for nitrogen and uranium content. As controls, they used a proboscidean molar also found at the site and fresh bone from a recently-slaughtered cow.

The fluorine method was first carried out in 1949 by Dr. Kenneth Oakley of the British Museum, which initially showed the fossils to have been much younger than fauna remains found in the same area.  The results drew the attention of colleague Professor Joseph S. Weiner, who, along with Oakley and Dr. Wilfrid E. Le Gros Clark, decided upon an exhaustive examination of the bones.  An improved fluorine test was done, as well as testing for nitrogen and uranium content. As controls, they used a proboscidean molar also found at the site and fresh bone from a recently slaughtered cow.

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The results had shown the Piltdown bones were not only considerably younger geologically than the Lower and Middle [[Pleistocene]] fossils said to have been found at the same site, but in fact they were less than 500 years old.  The cranium came from a man who died in the Medieval period, while the jaw fragment came from an orangutan (''Pongo abelii'') less than 200 hundred years old; this ape was determined to have died at the age of ten<ref>http://www.clarku.edu/~piltdown/map_expose/radioactivedating_piltdown.html</ref><ref>http://www.clarku.edu/~piltdown/map_gen_hist_surveys/piltman_oaklywiener.html</ref>. These tests had also revealed that the remains had been artificially stained to make them appear old, and the molars had been filed down to resemble human teeth.  To add further doubt to Piltdown's authenticity, the proboscidean molar turned out to have come from an extinct species of elephant (''Archidiskodon africanavus'') whose uranium content linked it to a site in [[Tunisia]].  Although not fully proven to this day, Dawson has been implicated as the creator of Piltdown man.   

The results had shown the Piltdown bones were not only considerably younger geologically than the Lower and Middle [[Pleistocene]] fossils said to have been found at the same site, but in fact they were less than 500 years old.  The cranium came from a man who died in the Medieval period, while the jaw fragment came from an orangutan (''Pongo abelii'') less than 200 years old; this ape was determined to have died at the age of ten<ref>http://www.clarku.edu/~piltdown/map_expose/radioactivedating_piltdown.html</ref><ref>http://www.clarku.edu/~piltdown/map_gen_hist_surveys/piltman_oaklywiener.html</ref>. These tests had also revealed that the remains had been artificially stained to make them appear old, and the molars had been filed down to resemble human teeth.  To add further doubt to Piltdown's authenticity, the proboscidean molar turned out to have come from an extinct species of elephant (''Archidiskodon africanavus'') whose uranium content linked it to a site in [[Tunisia]].  Although not fully proven to this day, Dawson has been implicated as the creator of Piltdown man.   

A claim that upwards of five hundred doctoral theses had been written about Piltdown man has filtered down through the years since; the actual number is two, and both were written long after the hoax was revealed in 1953<ref>http://creation.com/evolution-by-fiat-and-faith</ref>.

A claim that upwards of five hundred doctoral theses had been written about Piltdown man has filtered down through the years since; the actual number is two, and both were written long after the hoax was revealed in 1953<ref>http://creation.com/evolution-by-fiat-and-faith</ref>.

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[[Category: Evolution]]

[[Category:Evolution]]

[[Category: Theory of Evolution and Cases of Fraud, Hoaxes and Speculation]]

[[Category:Theory of Evolution and Cases of Fraud, Hoaxes and Speculation]]