The fossil that fooled the experts

The Piltdown finds appeared to offer an extraordinary clue to human origins. Skull fragments and a jaw were presented as parts of the same ancient individual.

Chemical tests challenged that story. In 1953, the supposed fossil was exposed as a forgery: human skull bones had been combined with an orangutan’s jaw. Teeth had been ground down, and bones artificially stained.

The pieces looked convincing together. Testing the individual pieces revealed that they did not belong together at all.