Editor’s note: This story was originally published on Dec. 8, 2024.
A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.
On Dec. 18, 1912, fossilized remains later called the Piltdown Man were supposedly found in the Piltdown Gravel Pit outside Sussex, England, by amateur archaeologist Charles Dawson.
Although there were doubts about its authenticity virtually from its announcement in 1912, the remains were still broadly accepted for many years, and the falsity of the hoax was only definitively demonstrated in 1953. An extensive scientific review in 2016 established that Dawson was responsible for the fraud.
Early in 1912, Dawson contacted Arthur Smith Woodward, keeper of geology at London’s Natural History Museum, stating he had found a section of a human-like skull in gravel beds near Piltdown. That summer, they purportedly discovered more bones and artifacts at the site, which they connected to the same individual. These finds included a jawbone, more skull fragments, a set of teeth, and primitive tools.
Dawson claimed it was a “missing link” between man and ape. Per reports, scholars declared that the skull was over 500,000 years old.
The hoax held up until 1953 when modern scrutiny proved that it was a composite of a medieval human skull, a 500-year-old orangutan jaw, and chimpanzee teeth.
Dawson died in 1916 without ever confessing. But all fingers point to him as the culprit.
Through the years, hoaxes have arisen and been exposed. We love a good mystery, even if it isn’t completely true.
Here are some stories from Deseret News archives about the hoax, other hoaxes and why many of us love a good tall tale:
“‘Missing link’ hoaxer finally identified”
“The All American Man: Ancient art or hoax?”
“An ancient mystery — or a hoax —at Lake Powell?”
“Scientist’s fake finds upset Japan’s historical foundation”
“James’ burial box a hoax, experts say”
“Why this 300 million-year-old fossil discovered in Utah has the paleontology world buzzing”