Piltdown Man Facts for Kids

A 1913 drawing of what "Piltdown Man" might have looked like.

Piltdown Man was once believed to be a very important discovery. People thought it was a "missing link" between humans and apes. This means it was seen as a fossil that showed how humans evolved from ape-like creatures. The first pieces of Piltdown Man were found in 1912 in England. For about 40 years, many scientists wrote papers about this discovery. But in 1953, it was proven that Piltdown Man was a trick, a deliberate hoax.

What Was Piltdown Man?
- The Fake "Fossils"
  - How the Hoax Was Made
Who Was Behind the Hoax?
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What Was Piltdown Man?

The "Piltdown Man" was not a real ancient human. It was made up of several different parts. These parts included two human skulls and a jawbone from an orangutan. There was also an elephant molar, a hippopotamus tooth, and a canine tooth from a chimpanzee.

The Fake "Fossils"

Scientists later figured out that the human skulls were only about 620 years old. They might have belonged to Ona Indians from Patagonia, a place in South America. These skulls were unusually thick, which is common for Ona Indians.

The orangutan jaw was about 500 years old. It might have come from Sarawak, a region in Southeast Asia. The elephant molar probably came from Tunisia in North Africa. The hippopotamus tooth was likely from Malta or Sicily, islands in the Mediterranean Sea. The chimpanzee tooth was from a type of chimpanzee that lived long ago.

All these different parts were carefully placed in a quarry in Piltdown, England. This was done so they would be "discovered" later. The goal was to make people believe they were real evidence for human evolution.

How the Hoax Was Made

The people behind the hoax used many tricks to make the bones look old.

The human skulls were treated with acid to make them look worn.
All the fake fossils were stained with a special iron solution. This made them look like they had been buried for a very long time.
The chimpanzee canine tooth was painted brown. It even had bubble gum used to patch it up!
The molars were filed down to change their shape.
The part of the orangutan jaw that connects to the skull was carefully broken. This was done to hide the fact that it did not fit a human skull.

Who Was Behind the Hoax?

The Piltdown Man hoax is thought to have been created by Charles Dawson. He was an archaeologist, a geologist, and a collector of fossils for the British Museum. However, no one is completely sure who else was involved.

There are a few other people who were suspected of helping. These include Sir Arthur Smith Woodward, who was in charge of the British Museum's Natural History department. Another suspect was Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a paleontologist and a Jesuit priest.