The Piltdown Hoax

The Piltdown hoax began early in 1912 when Charles Dawson, an amateur archeologist, claimed a workman at the Piltdown gravel pits had found and given him a fragment of skull. He then wrote a letter to Arthur Smith Woodward who joined him in Sussex and over the summer they found more skull fragments, a jawbone with two teeth, animal fossils and and some primitive tools; all of which were taken as further evidence of that the Piltdown man was the proof of the evolutionary relationship between ape and man. Woodward believed all the fragments belonged to the same individual and created a reconstruction. This recreation suggested that early human relatives dating back 500,000 years had a large brain so its intelligence set it apart from other apes. It also suggested that humans developed large brains before they were bipedal. The jaw bone was very ape like but the two teeth were flat and human looking which linked them to earlier ancestors. Finally on December 8, 1912 at a meeting of the Geological Society of London Dawson and Woodward revealed their Piltdown Man, or Eoanthropus dawsoni. Many scientists accepted this Piltdown Man because Woodward and Dawson were respected in the community and it provided the best evidence for an ape like ancestor of humans. Further evidence like a canine tooth found in 1913, a tool that looked like a cricket bat in 1914, and then more skull pieces and a molar tooth in 1915 silenced anyone else who had been criticizing the find. However after Dawson’s death in 1916 no other evidence was ever found. Despite this the Piltdown Man, with the backing of the Natural History Museum, was believed to be a key ancestor for 40 years. 

Then in 1953 the Piltdown man was revealed to be a huge scientific hoax! In the years after the initial announcement many other ancient remains had been found in Africa, China, Indonesia, Asia, and Europe, however none of them resembled the jaw and cranium combination that the Piltdown Man had. These discrepancies were hard to ignore so in the late 1940s Kenneth Oakley used fluorine tests to investigate the Piltdown fossils. These testes used fluorine's tendency to accumulate in calcium-containing organic matter such as bones and teeth to date the fossils at around 50,000, not nearly old enough to be the ancestor that linked apes with humans. Together with Joseph Weiner and Wilfrid Le Gros Clark they further testes the fossils and found out that the jaw and skull fragments came from different sources; the skull was human, but the jaw belonged to an orangutan and the two “human” teeth had been filed down until they were flat. They also found that the majority of the fossils found in Piltdown had been artificially stained to match the gravel in the area. The facts were in — the Piltdown man was a complete fake and it brought a lot of embarrassment to the British scientific community. Not only had they vehemently defended Dawson’s findings, but some had developed entire careers around the belief that the Piltdown man was the ancestor that linked apes and humans. 

The human faults that came into play were greed, rivalry, pride, and deception. These faults negatively affected the scientific process by giving the community false evidence to base their theories and research around. For 40 years the scientific community was trying to progress while it was blocked by a wall of false evidence, because British scientists wanted to prove that they were a great country in every aspect. For some men the idea of fame and worldwide respect is too much to live without.

The fluorine absorption test was the most positive aspect of the scientific process that helped reveal the fraudulence of the Piltdown Man. Fluorine absorption dating is used to determine how long something’s been underground. It is used on bones that are found in the same area because groundwater containing fluorine will seep into the bone. It is only relative when multiple objects are found in the same place because it won’t determine an exact age, only an estimate so basically you can only determine if one object is older or younger than the other. By using this form of dating Oakley was able to determine that the jaw bone was much older than the skull fragment found in Piltdown. 

I think it could be possible to eliminate the human error, but that’s what makes science so amazing. Humans need their error along with their ingenuity and persistence to push past the  boundaries of what is already known. Without error everything would be too easy and science would lose the satisfaction and the competition that has fueled some of our greatest discoveries. 

The biggest life lesson I can take from this hoax is to always be skeptical about any information you hear. Never believe anything just because someone told you to; always do your own research until you’re satisfied that the information given to you is indeed true. 

Homologous Trait: 

The Domestic Cat:

The domestic cat has been around since the times of ancient Egypt when they were worshipped. Since then they have become a normal part of the human home, or can be seen roaming as strays. They are smaller than other wild cats averaging at 14 inches long and around 10 pounds. They have excellent senses and spend around 18 hours of their day asleep. They are nocturnal and also carnivorous.

The Bearded Dragon:

The Bearded Dragon is naturally found in Australia but are kept all over the world as indoor pets. They come in a variety of shades due to genetic morphs, but are usually tan, brown, and a little orange. They can grow up to 24 inches long including their tails and spend most of their day basking. Their diet includes crickets, worms, and greens like kale. They are docile, but if they feel threatened their beard will puff out and turn a dark black color. 

Homologous Trait:

The cat's tail is long and flexible, covered in fur, and can show emotion that the cat is feeling; playfulness or frustration when it is twitching back and forth, fear when it's puffed up, and excitement when it stand straight up as the cat walks. The tail is also essential for balance and tail injuries can result in permanent damage since they are so closely connected to the spinal cord. Bearded Dragons have tails that are scaly, stiff and usually lay flat and drag behind them; if lifted too far then they can cause damage and break the spine. Bearded Dragons will twitch their tails similarly to cats when they are hunting, or this can be an indicator that they are stressed out. Unlike other lizards Bearded Dragons cannot regrow their tails so any damage to them is permanent. These traits are very different in these two species because they branched off from each other many years ago, but the similarity is still apparent.

Common Ancestor:

The common ancestor was a tetrapod long ago which, like most possessed a tail. The tail trait is still common in tetrapods even though some have a vestigial trait, like humans.

Domestic Cat tail

Bearded Dragon Tail:

Analogous Trait:

The Capybara:

     The Capybara, or water hog, is the world's largest rodent averaging at 1.4 meters long and it can be found in South and Central America. This rodent is semi-aquatic and its stocky appearance resembles a barrel. Most notable is the fact that their eyes, ears, and nose are all on the top of their short head which allows for exceptional sight, sound and smell while in the water. Their coarse fur is specifically designed to dry quickly once back on land and they are herbivores.

The Sea Otter:

The Sea Otter is one of the smallest marine mammals found in the Pacific Ocean and though they can live on land, it's not uncommon for them to live their entire lives in the water. Their black, brown, or tan fur is the thickest in the animal kingdom and it helps them fight the cold waters of the ocean. They are mainly carnivorous and are well known for using rocks as tools to open prey such as clams, snails, or sea urchins. 

Analogous Trait: Webbed Feet 

Both of these mammals spend most of their time in water so they each have developed webbing between their toes that help them become more efficient swimmers. Capybaras have webbing on all four feet with hoof like claws on each toe. The claws help them maintain traction while the webbing allows for movement through the water and also prevents them from sinking into the mud on the riverbanks. On the other hand, Sea Otters webbing occurs only on their hind feet which closely resemble flippers. Unlike the Capybara who uses all four feet while swimming, the Sea Otter only uses its hind legs which explains the difference in webbing. The Otter's feet are larger and more heavily webbed to allow for faster swimming. 

Common Ancestor:

The last common point between the Rodentia (Capybara's Order) and the Carnivora (Sea Otter's Order) is something in the Boreoeutheria magnorder. This ancestry is so long ago and not all of the mammals after this group have webbed feet so it doesn't make much sense to believe that the initial ancestor group had them. Webbed feet in Capybaras and Sea Otters is just a good example of parallel evolution. 

Capybara feet and webbing

Sea Otter hind feet and webbing

Decode this: Protein Synthesis

  Good luck!


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Historical Influences on Darwin

After reading and researching I believe that Alfred Russel Wallace had the most influence on Darwin and his theory of Natural Selection. Wallace was a naturalist and explorer who, while traveling in the Amazon, noticed that animals and plants had characteristics that were influenced by environmental factors (i.e. camouflaged coloring or specially formed bills for eating nuts.) He called this theory evolution or natural selection and published the articles ‘On the Law which has Regulated the Introduction of New Species’ and ‘On the Tendency of Varieties to Depart Indefinitely from the Original Type.’ Wallace is also known for placing the zoological dividing line (known as Wallace’s line) between the Malay islands of Borneo and Celebes. (http://www.phfawcettsweb.org/wallace.htm)

The sixth bullet point, “If the environment changes, the traits that are helpful or adaptive to that environment will be different,” is most influenced by Wallace’s work. The influence is a positive one because Wallace was independently coming to the same conclusions as Darwin while he traveled the Amazon. He observed how different animals and plants had differing characteristics based on their environmental needs. Coloring varied from place to place in order to act as a camouflage and certainn birds had different shaped beaks in order to eat the specific nuts of an area or reach the nectar of flowers. Wallace observed that when the environment would change species had to change with it and evolve in order to survive. He also observed that the same species would have completely different characteristics in different areas because the environment called for different adaptations.Darwin built upon Wallace’s work and published both their findings in 1858. Darwin was already working on his theory of natural selection and would have concluded it without Wallace and his work, but Wallace made Darwin realize that if he didn’t publish soon then another could take credit for his theory. In this way Wallace pushed Darwin to speed up and publish his theory sooner.. Darwin was concerned that many people belonging to the church, such as his wife Emma, saw his theory as challenging their beliefs. He knew his work was highly controversial as a lot of people associated evolution with atheism so he was hesitant to publish his work. After publication he was met with a lot of criticism, but also scholarly praise. I believe that seeing Wallace’s findings gave Darwin the confidence he needed to publish and upset the status quo for the sake of science.

Which two items would you bring if you were stranded on a deserted island?

     It seems like an easy question to answer, but if you truly did have a choice would you know what you wanted to bring with you? I sat and thought about this prompt for at least twenty minutes before I could decide on my two items. At first I decided on sentimental items, but I figured that my desire to live would eventually outweigh the nostalgia attached to the items so they would be rendered useless. Then my mind jumped to stuff like a boat, or a cell phone, but I wanted to approach this question as being very literal since I've never really done that. So, if I was stranded on a deserted island I would bring the book "How to Survive on a Deserted Island" by Tim O'Shei and a very good knife.

   The book seems like it has a pretty obvious explanation, but I'll give you my reasons anyway. I've been asked this question multiple times so I finally sat down and researched good survival guides to have in my library just in case I ever did get stranded. During my research I found "How to Survive on a Deserted Island" on Amazon and the reviews all claimed that it was one of the most helpful guides for first time "survivors." I looked around more and was able to read the first chapter and I agreed with the reviewers -- this book was packed with useful tips and I could follow them pretty easily. If I ever find myself stranded then this survival guide is the number one item I will want to have with me.

    My second item, the knife, also seems like a pretty reasonable object to bring. It can be used for a variety of tasks; create a spark for fire, cut down foliage for shelter, sharpen wood for hunting, cut and clean game, protection (never needs to be reloaded and can be sharpened using stones), and even some first aid. The knife is the most useful tool I could ask for when contemplating having to survive on my own. It would give me a solid start and then I could just follow the guide to continue living.