The perpetrators of the infamous Piltdown hoax of the early 20th century have never been satisfactorily identified. For forty years (1913-1953), a collection of human and animal bones planted in a quarry site in Sussex was accepted by most of the scientific community as legitimate evidence of early human remains in the United Kingdom.
But in 1953, the collection was revealed to be the result of a deliberate hoax set out to embarrass the scientific establishment. Possible conspirators have included Arthur Keith, Arthur Conan Doyle, Teilhard de Chardin, and Rudyard Kipling, but the real perpetrators may never be identified.
Sources
Langdon, John H. 1991 Misinterpreting Piltdown. Current Anthropology 32(5):627-631.Tobias, Phillip V. 1992 Piltdown: An appraisal of the case against Sir Arthur Keith. Current Anthropology 33(3):243-294.
This glossary entry is part of the Dictionary of Archaeology. Any mistakes are the responsibility of Kris Hirst.
