The Piltdown Hoax

During the year 1912, in England, a  man named Charles Dawson claimed to have found a fragment of an ancient human skull and jawbone.  Supposed found when digging through a gravel pit, Dawson called fellow researchers Arthur Smith Woodward and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin up to Piltdown.  They were geologists and a French paleontologists respectively, the supposed discovery drew major attention because it marked the first ancient human remains found in England.  For many decades, this had fooled the scientific community into believing that this was indeed the remains of human ancestors.  However, extensive studying and chemical testing would prove that these were illegitimate and were merely presented to appear millions of years old.  By submerging the bones with certain chemical compounds, they were given the appearance to be ancient fossil remains.  The skull was tested to be the skull of a human from around the medieval period.  The jawbone were from an orangutan around 500 years old.  It unraveled quickly and the world realized it was a hoax.
Quite simply, nobody would step out and admit to the fault.  Despite being completely exposed, the three scientists remained quiet about the hoax.

The idea of prestige and pride clearly blinded Dawson, assuming Dawson is indeed the culprit.  Scientists want to make important discoveries, and more importantly, they want the credit and a place in history.  Humans are naturally greedy, because being greedy means surviving and therefore reproducing.  It is easy to see why somebody would try to make a illegitimate claim to a discovery assuming it was not exposed.

The modernization of technology and sciences helped expose this.  The advance of microscopes and their magnification strength as well as chemical testing helped reveal the true identity of the fragments.

In order to remove the "human" factor in science, you would have to essentially remove the human.  It is natural for humans to want attention, recognition, and to be greedy.  Also, the human factor drives the competitiveness of science and the will to discover more and learn more about life and the universe.  I would not want to remove the human factor because although it might create scandals and hoaxes, the same human factor drives others to test, examine, and even reexamine each claim and case.

People should not always believe what they see, or what they hear.  Unless supported by a credible source, tested, and confirmed to be true, anything can be proven otherwise.  There is a reason the scientific method was adopted.  You must take caution on what to believe because it can very easily be proven misinformation, as was the Piltdown Hoax.

The Piltdown Hoax

During 1912, an Englishman named Charles Dawson claimed to have uncovered ancient human remains in Piltdown.  Immediately, he called fellow scientists, Arthur Smith Woodward and  Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.  Woodward as a geologist, while Chardin was a French paleontologist.  They together said to have found more remains, they consisted of a ancient skull fragment, jawbone, and teeth.  After receiving credit for the discovery of human ancestors for over 40 years, they were finally exposed via chemical testing and microscopic testing. 

The entire world was shocked to hear, while some scientists were ashamed.  The three scientists however, remained quiet in the midst of the exposure.  The skull was chemically tested to be a mere few hundred years old and to be carved by knife to capture a human-like shape.  The jawbone was found to be the jawbone not of an ancient human, but of an orangutan.  The teeth were tested as well and belonged to a chimpanzee.  All three of the supposed ancient fossils were chemically rendered to appear millions of years old. 

Greed is a natural part of humans, because greed often leads to survival.  Assuming Dawson was responsible for the hoax, it was because he sought credit and recognition for an important discovery.  Credit and attention are two things many scientists seek in order to feel empowered.  Clearly, bias and selfishness can obstruct any form of craft because it ignores the evidence.

The modernization of technology is responsible for exposing the hoax.  Stronger microscopes were used to identify the carve marks on the bones to show that they were artificially presented to appear human.   Additionally, chemical testing was used to show that all the bones were not nearly as old as Dawson had claimed. 

The Human Factor is not always negative when it comes to science.  Although it is true that the Human Factor can encourage more hoaxes like this, it also drives the competitive nature in the craft.  Wanting more credit, trying to make the important discovery, and wanting to feel empowered all drive the sciences.  Also, this will drive people to test and reexamine discoveries more fully.  I would not take away the Human Factor because the drive the be the best is part of what makes humans so unique. 

A lesson to take away from this example is the be cautious in what you believe.  We may not be able to test some theories and claims first hand, but finding trusted sources and their support can lead to safer decisions.  Seeing how the world was fooled by the Piltdown Hoax for over 40 years shows how easily people can be fooled.

Homoogy and Analogy Post

Examples of Homologous and Analogous Traits

1.  A. Starting with a leg of a dog and pectoral fins of a dolphin, both are used very similarly.  They both propel the animals forward, and are both constructed of bones.  A dog’s leg provides it the ability to both jump and move them forward.  Much like the human skeletal structure, dogs also have the large thigh bone femur which links to the fibula and tibia.  A dolphin on the other hand uses it’s tail and fin to swim while providing directional control.  The dolphins pectoral fins, like a dog’s leg are connected by a series of bones.

B.   However, the traits both animals possess are distinctly different.  The dog can use this limb to jump, leap, run, and walk while the dolphin is limited to using the fin to guide itself and swim by pushing water back.  Clearly, the traits must be different due to their environments.  The swimming back and forth motion a dolphin is limited to would be nearly useless for the dog, who lives on land.  Meanwhile, the ability to push off the ground with little surface area would prove meaningless for a dolphin, which requires fins, that can push back large portions of water which pushes them forward.

C.  Possible ancestors to both the dolphin and a dog may have been mammals that lived on land with a branch of the species hunting for food in water while another needed faster legs with jumping capability.  The need to move quickly in order to feed is a clear similarity the ancestor, dog, and dolphin all share.

Aren't I Cute?

Hello, I am the Evil Dolphin

2. A + B. Dragonflies and vultures both have sets of wings.  However, dragonflies and vultures have wing structures completely independent from each other and operate differently.  The dragonfly have incredibly powerful wings allowing them to reach speeds up to a record 60 miles per hour.  Meanwhile, the vulture has large boned wings which are used to help control it’s altitude.  Dragonfly use their wings are their only means of transportation because despite having 6 legs, they can only use their legs to land and crawl at very slow speed.  The vulture uses it’s wings to fly high and scavenge for food, fly in circles around a potential meal, and stabilize itself when landing.  The wings of both the dragonfly and vulture are both used to fly, showing that the general purpose of the trait was similar.  The two sets of wings were developed over long periods of time to help fulfill their needs.  

C.  Although all life share 1 common ancestor, the trait seems to have been adapted due to environmental stress.  The dragonfly for example, does have 6 legs, it is likely the dragonfly used the legs as primary means of travel before it had wings.