Piltdown Collection

Peking Man A new link in human evolution. Chimpanzee, Pithecanthropus, Peking Man and Piltdown Man (later shown to be a hoax). Date: 1929

A discussion on the Piltdown skull by John Cooke
Portrait group of well-known British scientists examining the Piltdown skull. This topical painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1915

Piltdown Man memorial, 1938
The site of the discovery of the Piltdown skull: the monolith memorial unveiled by Sir Keith Arthur on 22nd July 1938. The memorial was placed in the grounds of Barkham Manor at Piltdown

Piltdown Man reconstructed, 1912
Piltdown Man, as imagined by Illustrated London News special artist Amedee Forestier, soon after the discovery of the bones was made public in 1912

Piltdown Man article- The most ancient inhabitant of England
The most ancient inhabitant of England: the newly found Sussex Man. A page from the Illustrated London News by W.P Pycraft, examining the parallels between the Piltdown Man skull and jaw

Piltdown forgery meeting
Meeting to present the extent of the forgery at the Geological Society of London at Burlington House on 30 June 1954

Piltdown man reconstructed
The Piltdown man sketched by A. Forestier after Professor Keiths reconstruction, and an inset showing an alterative reconstruction after Dr. A. Smith Woodward

Geologists at Piltdown
Geologists Association party visiting the pit at Piltdown on 12 July 1913

Wealden TN22 3 Map
Postcode Sector Map of Wealden TN22 3

Piltdown Man
An illustration of The earliest known inhabitant of England, based upon the fragments of skull and jawbone supposedly discovered in a gravel pit at Piltdown, East Sussex, England

Martin Alister Campbell Hinton (1883-1961)
Portrait of Martin Alister Campbell Hinton, a zoologist and keeper of zoology at the British Museum (Natural History). From Piltdown, A Scientific Forgery

A clay reconstruction of the face of Piltdown Man
A clay reconstruction of the face of the paleoanthropological hoax Piltdown Man, discovered in the grounds of Barkham Manor at Piltdown, East Sussex

Piltdown Man: reconstructed skulls compared
Ape-Man of Modern Man? The two Piltdown skull reconstructions. A page from the Illustrated London News, debating the merits of Dr. A

Piltdown Man: mandible and skull compared
Ape-Man of Modern Man? The two Piltdown skull reconstructions. A page from the Illustrated London News, debating the merits of Dr. A

The Piltdown jaw: a reconstruction by W. P Pycraft
A drawing by W. P Pycraft of the restored jaw of the Piltdown Man, showing a pronounced forward thrust. Date: 1912

Piltdown Man: brain capacity compared
A page from the Illustrated London News, debating the merits of Dr. A. Smith-Woodwards reconstruction of the Piltdown Mans brain over the reconstruction proposed by Professor Arthur Keith s

Piltdown Man: Dawson and Smith-Woodward search for more bone
Seeking remains of the oldest known Englishman: looking for relics of the Piltdown Man. Charles Dawson and A. Smith-Woodward searching for other parts of the skeleton on the site of the first

Model of skull of Piltdown man (Eanothropus dawsoni) as reconstructed by Dr Smith Woodward. Dark areas are from the original fossil, the light are the restored areas

Piltdown Stegodon tooth C016 / 5975
Piltdown Stegodon tooth (item E.596). Part of a molar tooth of the extinct mammal Stegodon. The amateur geologist Charles Dawson (1864-1916) claimed to have found this tooth

Piltdown hand axe C016 / 5972
Piltdown rolled flake (item E.613, presented as an early human flint hand axe by the amateur geologist Charles Dawson (1864-1916)

Piltdown Stegodon tooth C016 / 5973
Piltdown Stegodon tooth (item E.620). Part of a molar tooth of the extinct mammal Stegodon. The amateur geologist Charles Dawson (1864-1916) claimed to have found this tooth

Reconstruction of Piltdown skull C016 / 5942
Reconstruction of the Piltdown Man (Eoanthropus dawsoni) skull, as described in 1912, following the discovery of a skull and jaw fragments near Piltdown, Sussex

Piltdown cricket bat C016 / 5943
Piltdown cricket bat. Side view of sharpened piece of elephant thigh bone, presented as an early human digging implement by the amateur geologist Charles Dawson (1864-1916)

Piltdown Stegodon tooth C016 / 5974
Piltdown Stegodon tooth (item E.596). Part of a molar tooth of the extinct mammal Stegodon. The amateur geologist Charles Dawson (1864-1916) claimed to have found this tooth

Piltdown cricket bat C016 / 5971
Piltdown cricket bat. Side view of a sharpened piece of elephant thigh bone, presented as an early human digging implement by the amateur geologist Charles Dawson (1864-1916)

The Piltdown man excavation site
Excavation at Piltdown c. 1913 with Cyril Woodward showing scale

Fannia scalaris, fake fossil fly in amber

The Piltdown (Skull) Gravel Pit
The site where the Pitdown specimens were claimed to have been discovered (1912-1915). Photograph believed to have been taken during the winter of 1913

Barkham Avenue, Piltdown, Sussex
View looking down the drive c. 1912, including from left to right, Venus Hargreaves, Arthur Smith Woodward (with the goose Chipper), Charles Dawson, and Robert Kenward Snr

Searching for the Piltdown Man

Excavations at Piltdown circa 1913
Charles Dawson (left) and Dr A Smith Woodward (right)

Workers at Piltdown

Homo sapiens cranium (Piltdown 1)
Two pieces that represent the Piltdown 1 cranium held at The Natural History Museum, London. This specimen was reported as being discovered at Piltdown

Piltdown Stegodon tooth
Piltdown, Sussex item E.620, part of a molar tooth of the extinct mammal Stegodon, of the Pliocene to the Pleistocene epochs. Held at the Natural History Museum, London

Piltdown Mastodon tooth
Piltdown, Sussex item E.622, edge view of molar of the extinct mammal Mastodon. Held at the Natural History Museum, London

Piltdown flake implement
Piltdown, Sussex item E.612 held at The Natural History Museum, London

Piltdown flints
Collection of Piltdown flints held at The Natural History Museum, London

Piltdown Eolithic flint
Piltdown, Sussex item E.614 held at The Natural History Museum, London

Piltdown rolled flake
Piltdown, Sussex item E.613 held at The Natural History Museum, London

Piltdown flint implement
Piltdown, Sussex item E.605 held at The Natural History Museum, London

Piltdown Palaeolith flint
Piltdown, Sussex item E.685 held at The Natural History Museum, London

Equus sp. horse
Upper molar tooth from a species of the Equus genus. Item E. 602 of the animal fossil specimens found at Piltdown, Sussex, 1912-15, held at the Natural History Museum, London

Castor fiber, Eurasian beaver
Lower molar tooth of a Eurasian beaver. Item E. 603 of the animal fossil specimens found at Piltdown, Sussex, 1912-15, held at the Natural History Museum, London

Echinocarys, echinoid hoax
A hoax fossil echinoid found at Piltdown, Sussex. Specimen now held at the Natural History Museum, London

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"Piltdown: Unraveling the Enigma of Human Evolution" In 1912, a groundbreaking discovery shook the scientific community - Piltdown Man, a fossilized skull found in England's Wealden region. Believed to be the missing link between apes and humans, this find sparked immense curiosity and debate. Fast forward to 1938, where a memorial was erected to commemorate this significant archaeological milestone. The Piltdown Man Memorial stood as a testament to our ever-evolving understanding of human evolution. One prominent figure in unraveling the mystery behind Piltdown was John Cooke. His insightful discussion on the Piltdown skull shed light on its authenticity or lack thereof. Little did they know at that time that it would become one of history's most infamous hoaxes. The forgery meeting held regarding Piltdown exposed an elaborate deception orchestrated by an unknown perpetrator. As geologists delved deeper into their investigations at Piltdown, doubts began to arise about its legitimacy. Despite these revelations, scientists continued reconstructing what they believed were accurate representations Man's appearance using clay models. These reconstructions aimed to provide visual insight into our ancient ancestor's face and features. Comparisons between reconstructed skulls further fueled discussions surrounding this enigmatic figure in human evolution. Experts sought answers within the layers of history embedded in Wealden TN22 3 Map – hoping for clues hidden beneath its surface. Ultimately, Peking Man emerged as a new link in human evolution – overshadowing the once-celebrated but now discredited story Man. This revelation forced us to reevaluate our understanding and challenged long-held beliefs about our origins. Today, we look back at the tale with both fascination and caution – reminding ourselves that even science can fall prey to deceitful manipulations. It serves as a reminder that skepticism is crucial for progress while emphasizing how far we've come since those days when "the most ancient inhabitant of England" held the scientific world in its grip.