Charles Dawson

Charles Dawson (11 July 1864 – 10 August 1916) was a British amateur archaeologist who claimed to have made a number of archaeological and palaeontological discoveries that were later exposed as frauds. These forgeries included the Piltdown Man (Eoanthropus dawsoni), a unique set of bones that he claimed to have found in 1912 in Sussex. Many technological methods such as fluorine testing indicate that this discovery was a hoax, and Dawson, the only person with the skill and knowledge to generate this forgery, was a major suspect.

The eldest of three sons, Dawson moved with his family from Preston, Lancashire, to Hastings, Sussex, when he was still very young. He initially studied law, in order to become his father's apprentice and then pursued a hobby of collecting and studying fossils. The Natural History Museum awarded him the title of "honorary collector". He was then elected fellow of the Geological Society for his discoveries and a few years later, he joined the Society of Antiquaries of London. Dawson died prematurely from pernicious anaemia in 1916 at Lewes, Sussex.

In 1893, Dawson investigated a curious flint mine full of prehistoric, Roman and medieval artifacts in the Lavant Caves, near Chichester, and probed two tunnels beneath Hastings Castle. Questions about the Piltdown find were raised from the beginning, first by Arthur Keith, but also by palaeontologists and anatomists from the United States and Europe. Defence of the fossils was led by Arthur Smith Woodward at the Natural History Museum in London. The debate was rancorous at times and the response to those disputing the finds often became personally abusive. Challenges to Piltdown Man arose again in the 1920s, but were again dismissed.

In 2003, Miles Russell of Bournemouth University published the results of his investigation into Dawson's antiquarian collection and concluded that at least 38 specimens were clear fakes. Russell has noted that Dawson's whole academic career appears to have been "one built upon deceit, sleight of hand, fraud and deception, the ultimate gain being international recognition."

Piltdown Man

Three CT scans of the Piltdown Man's canine that display the root of the tooth which was compared to apes (a), the loss of enamel (b & c), and dotted lines that indicate how the undamaged root would appear (b & c). Dawson claimed to have discovered a collection of fossils that have been dug up in Piltdown, Sussex, including an ape-like jawbone and a human-like skull. However, after his death, it was proved that the remains were evidently forged. For years, the creator of these remains was unknown, though it was then determined, through a meticulous inspection of his finds and collections, that Charles Dawson himself was most likely responsible for this forgery. Furthermore, chemical tests displayed that the fossils had been artificially stained by iron and chromium to appear medieval. Second, he was majorly involved in the Piltdown findings. He initiated the story of the Piltdown finds and was the one who contacted Woodward about them. Also, he was the only person present at every discovery; nothing was ever discovered at the site when he was not physically present and no other fossils were found after he died. Third, not only did he have access to the museum and antiquarian shops that carried these objects, he was also a popular collector, an amazing networker, and knew what the British scientific community expected in a missing link between apes and humans.

It has been suggested that Dawson's motive for this forgery had been his strong desire for scientific recognition and to join the archeological Royal Society. Between 1883 and 1909, Dawson wrote 50 publications though none were important enough to elevate his career. In 1909, he wrote a letter to Smith Woodward, with an unhappy heart, saying that he wanted to uncover a significant discovery though he never seemed to come across one. Just six weeks later, Dawson's wife wrote a letter to the Home Secretary, pleading on behalf of Dawson's expertise. Sorrowful that he never unearthed a major discovery, he created the Piltdown Man which resulted in his election to the Royal Society.

Although there is not a substantial amount of evidence, some believe that he received aid from other experts such as Teilhard de Chardin, who discovered a fake canine, Sir Arthur Smith Woodward, Keeper of the Department at the Natural History Museum, co-author of the announcement of Piltdown II, and Martin Hinton, a zoologist at the Natural History Museum where, in 1970, a trunk of his was discovered containing bones stained to make them appear old, using the same technique as for Piltdown Man.