History’s Mysteries: Hoax Of The Ages – Piltdown Man

Part of the documentary series examining unexplained phenomena around the world. This volume takes a look at the infamous hoax of the so-called ‘Piltdown Man’, the human remains discovered in 1912 and believed to provide crucial evidence for Darwin’s evolutionary theories. It was to take 41 years, so cunning was the fraud, for experts to determine that the bones were not in fact human, but those of an ape. Using rare archive footage and photographs, as well as period accounts and interviews, this documentary uncovers the scientific scandal and attempts to discover who might have been responsible.Synopsis
When workers digging in a gravel pit near Piltdown, England in 1912 discovered a collection of bones, the scientific world was turned on its head. For the apparently ancient remnants seemed to be the so-called “missing link” between apes and humans. Many scientists heralded the finding as confirmation of Darwin’s (then) controversial Theory of Evolution. But Eonthrapus dawsoni, the scientific name given to the remains, proved to be an astonishingly effective hoax, not a vital clue to mankind’s past. Because the bones were so brilliantly doctored, it took 41 years before they were conclusively proven to be the fragments from a human cranium and the jawbone of an ape.
Hoax of the Ages uses rare footage and photos, period accounts and expert interviews to tell the fascinating story of Piltdown Man. Relive the incredible uproar the discovery sparked, and examine the many theories about the identity of the con-artist responsible– the list includes Sherlock Holmes’s creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Nearly a century later, the answer remains unclear, but the story of the Piltdown Man continues to fascinate.