3rd December 1953: A reconstruction of the famous Piltdown Skull on display in the Natural History Museum, London. Accepted as evidence of the 'missing link' between ape and man since its discovery by Charles Dawson in 1912, the skull has recently been fluorine tested and found to be a hoax, constructed from the cranium of a man and the jawbone of an orang-utan from the Middle Ages.

The Piltdown Man was one of the 20th century's greatest scientific hoaxes. But now, a recent reconstruction shows that The Piltdown Man, which was believed to be the human evolution missing link, may have actually been a woman.

The Piltdown Man

Since its discovery in 1912, The Piltdown Man has been thought to be human evolution's missing link. Back then, the remains were publicly released to the world during a packed meeting of the Geological Society.

The remains had an ape-like mandible with parts of a braincase that wwere human-like and two worn molar teeth. It seemingly bridged the gap in evolution between modern humans and apes. Other prehistoric animal fossil fragments and stone tools were discovered alongside the seemingly human remains. All of them had a dark red stain that was similar to the gravel they were discovered on.

The species was dubbed Eoanthropus dawsonii, or Dawson's Dawn Man. This came after Charles Dawson, the man who claimed to find the remains.

However, it was found later on that the specimens were fake. They were created by mixing the remains of humans with orangutan remains. It took almost 50 years before this was uncovered.

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Reconstruction of the Fake Human Ancestor

Now, a reconstruction of the fake human evolution missing link has been presented by specialists. The team of archaeologists, including 3D illustrator and forensic expert Cícero Moraes, made a model for replicating the remains that Charles Dawson presented in the past.

The team was able to reference a Time magazine article from November 1953, wherein it included evidence regarding how the Man was a composite of three different species.

On top of this, they also shed doubt on the supposed gender of the specimen, noting how it was highlighted that the female orangutan's haw may have been used as a basis in the forgery process of the fossil. By mixing this with delicate skull aspects, it shows how the remains may actually be those of a woman and not a man.

While several individuals have been blamed for these remains, specialists tend to blame Charles Dawson for it. Scientists say that the teeth and bones used for the specimen's creation seem to have come from one orangutan and some human skeletons that may have had medieval origins.

Bone scans show that the same dental putty was utilized in the specimens for human bone reconstruction and for piecing the remains of the orangutan onto them. The dental putty was also used for loading teeth and bones with gravel from Piltdown to make them appear more authentic and real.

According to human evolution expert Dr. Isaelle De Groote from Liverpool John Moores University, who led a study on The Piltdown Man in 2016, explains that while several individuals have been accused of making fake remains, their analysis to understand the modus reveals consistency across various specimens in both sites. Dr. De Groote adds that their analysis clearly reveals that the work was done by a single forger, Charles Dawson.

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