Piltdown Hoax

1    On December 18, 1912, archaeologist Charles Dawson and Arthur Smith Woodward of the British Museum had announced a remarkable discovery. After three-years of excavation of the Piltdown gravel pit in Sussex, England, Dawson had dug out human-like skull fragments and a jaw with two teeth, along with animal fossils and primitive stone tools. Dawson and Woodward announced that one of the skulls and the jaw belonged to a human ancestor, who lived some 500,000 to 1 million years ago. The scientific community celebrated Dawson's discovery as the long-awaited "missing link" between ape and man and the confirmation of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. As time passed and new information began to be revealed, the Piltdown man findings started to not make sense. Today many think that Dawson was the hoaxer, but controversy continues. Some think that Dawson had helped to create this hoax from people like Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a young priest who helped in the excavation. Others place the blame on a man by the name of Martin Hinton, an employee at the British Museum whom Woodward once refused a job. He had been drawn in to the number of suspects since a boxful of artificially stained bones that may have belonged to him were discovered in 1975. Even Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes novels, has been named as a possible suspect due to living near Piltdown.

3.      A group of researchers the British museum by the names of Kenneth Oakley, Wilfred Le Gros Clark, and Joseph Weiner ran test that prove the skull was fake. They used fluorine-based test to date the skull. With this test they were able to see that the upper skull was approximately 50,000 years old. The jawbone, however, was only a few decades old. A second test, using nitrogen analysis, confirmed the first test. They also found that the jaw had been artificially stained with potassium dichromate which made it appear older. The British Museum researchers argued that someone must have taken the jawbone and teeth of a modern ape, probably an orangutan, and stained them in order to make them appear much older then what they were. These artifacts, the jaw and skull fragments, must then have been planted at the Piltdown site.

4.      I do not believe that “human” factor can be removed from science. Simply because it takes humans to study science. Of course technology is very advance now but I believe technology is simply there to assist us. 

Dental Formula Dentition Patterns in Primates

Lemurs are most found in an island known as Madagascar, which is located off the East Coast of Africa. Although most Lemurs are found in the island of Madagascar, you can still find a small population of lemurs nearby Comoros Islands north-west of Madagascar . Lemurs survive of foods from trees and plants. But there are know Lemurs that are omnivorous, only eat insects, eggs and lizards. Lemurs have long, curved, rodent-like incisor teeth that allows them to get at their food in hard to reach places. They have a dental comb formed by lower protruding incisors and canines that are used for grooming and feeding. Lemurs Dentition pattern or dental formula in each quadrant is 2133 which mean they have 2 incisors, 1 canine, 3 premolars and 3 molars. Because Lemurs do not have any other primates to compete with, its easily safe to say they have not had to adapt to much change.

Spider monkeys live in the tropical rain forests of Central and South America and can be found as far north as Mexico The rainforest provides a n ideal environment for this tree loving monkey. Spider monkeys find food in the treetops and eat nuts, fruits, leaves, bird eggs, and spiders. Like the lemurs, Spider monkeys also have a dental formula of 2133. 2 incisors, 1 canine, 3 molars and 3 premolars. The incisors that the spider monkey has are large with small molars. Because they live in trees, fruits are there main foods. There large incisors allow the spider monkey to pick at the fruits.

Baboon are mainland monkeys. There are five types of Baboons and they all live either in Africa or Arabia .Baboons prefer savanna and other semi-arid habitats, though a few live in tropical forests. Because baboons are adaptable primates and can live in a variety environments there food selections varies from fruits, grasses, seeds, bark, and roots, but also have a taste for meat. They eat birds, rodents, and even the young ones of larger mammals, such as antelopes and sheep. Male baboons have strong powerful jaws with long canine teeth. There powerful jaws allow them to defend themselves against predators, competition for mates, and hunting when needed. Their Dental Formula 2123. 2 incisors, 1 canine, 2 premolars and 3 molars.







Gibbons are considered endangered like many of this primates. They live in the subtropical rain forests on the Far East end of the globe which includes the Southeast, South and East Asia.  Gibbons are tree-living. Obviously because they do spent most of their time in trees gibbons not only survive on fruits but also enjoy eating twigs and bird eggs. Gibbons dental formula is exactly like the baboon, 2 incisors, 1 canine, 2 premolars and 3 molars. 2123. There surroundings have allowed them to have sharp canine teeth that help with eating fruits.

Chimpanzees are found in Africa. As well as Guinea, Western Uganda and Tanzania.  They too enjoy living in the rainforests of these regions.  They eat many types of plants, as wll as ants, termites, birds, and at some points even monkeys. Just like the baboon and the Gibbon, Chimpanzees also have the same dental formula. 2123 2 incisors, 1 canine, 2 premolars and 3 molars.




Looking at the Dentition Patterns of all five primates. The pattern shows us that the Lemurs and the Spider Monkeys have a dental pattern of 2133 and the Baboons, Gibbons, and Chimpanzees have a Dental Pattern 2123. The patterns are not that different with it only consisting of an extra molar. The extra moler allows the new world primates to chew their food much easier and also break down to allow them to swallow much better.

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