Piltdown Blog

In February of 1912 a laborer digging at Barkham Manor near the village of Pilton found a piece of skull that he reportedly then gave to Charles Dawson, an amateur archeologist.  Charles Dawson then on approached Sir Arthur Smith Woodword, a very well known geologist and together they set off to continue digging at the site. They found an ape-like jawbone with human-like teeth that seemed to link it to the skull Dawson got from the laborer.  It appeared they had found the earliest human.  

What’s important to understand is that the British had no early man.  The French and the Germans had many Neanderthals and they were very proud of their discoveries and the British wanted one of their own, something to “rival the Germans’ ape man.” They were jealous.  The finding meant fossil evidence for the earliest humans and their primates; a creature part ape and part human; a fossil that connected humans with apes and ultimately proof of Darwin’s theory.  We know this to be true in todays day, but back in the early 1900s they did not have the technology, so this had huge scientific significance in 1912. On December 18, 1912 they presented the world with “the earliest Englishman” – Piltdown Man. However, some experts remained skeptical.

They found a tooth matching predictions of the size of the canine and even found another skull and tooth of Piltdown Man Two.  This find made Pildown genuine – no one could question the initial find now.  They even had the backing of the Natural History Museum, but in 1953 the world found out that Piltdown Man was a fake. It started with a chemical test to date the fossils (they were estimating the nitrogen content).  They found the teeth had been filed down.  The skull was a different age then the jaw – even worse the jaw was not even human! The fossils had been boiled and carefully stained with chemicals to make them look old. The canine tooth seemed to have been made in a rush because it was crudely filed and colored with paint.

No one knows for sure who did it, but the person who had the most to gain from the hoax was Charles Dawson. They say his ambitions to make a name for himself were limitless.  This ambition can be portrayed as a human fault. The need for a sense of pride also played a role because otherwise maybe the Natural History Museum would have taken more steps to verify the fossils instead of just accepting it and announcing it to the world. It was like they just wanted to win the competition, they wanted to be the best. I do not think that it’s possible to remove the “human” factor from science because it is humans who are doing the research.  How can someone remove something that is natural to them? After all is not our humanness that makes us human? We can reduce the chance of errors like this happening again by putting procedures into place, but I do not suggest removing the human factor from science. Our humanness is what makes us curious and creative; it leads us to ask questions and find answers.  We need that in science, too. A life lesson that I can take from this is to remember to be humble and of course, don’t lie because the truth always comes out.

Analogy & Homology Blog Post

Homologous Trait: limbs

Two species that share a homologus trait are a human and a dog.  Humans are of the primate genus Homo, specifically a member of the species homo sapiens.  Dogs are mammals that are of the genus Canis and are a subspecies of wolves.  The dog was the first species to be domesticated and they come in many different breeds.  They have long been associated with humans, which has led them to be uniquely attuned to human behavior. 

The arm of a human and the leg of a dog are considered homologous structures because they have a similar underlying anatomy.  Our arms have the same bones and joints as the front legs of dogs. As the photo depicts, we share radius', ulnas, carpals, metacarpals, and digits. Humans use their arms for a range of things, but to name a few they are used for lifting, carrying, or throwing things. Dogs use their front legs for walking, running, and digging.  Researchers speculate that the common ancestor of the human and dog is the insectivore.

Analogous Trait: Flippers

Two species that share an analogous trait are penguins and dolphins. Penguins are from the Spheniscidae familyand evolved from flying birds. They reside in the Southern Hemisphere. They are usually in an upright position and walk on short legs. Dolphins are from the cetacean family and evolved from land-dwelling mammals of the artiodactyl order. They generally prefer warmer climates.  Although they live in the ocean, dolphins are still classified as mammals.  They have a dorsal fin that runs the length of the body. 

Penguins and dolphins both use their flippers for progression through water. Specifically, they both use their flippers to change direction and to manage their movement while in the water. The penguin’s flippers are supposed to be the vestiges of wings because they evolved from flying birds, however now they use their flippers to swim through water and cannot fly. Given that dolphins are mammals and penguins are birds, this is an example of convergent evolution where analogous structures with a similar function develop from unrelated bodily structures. These species do not share a recent common ancestor, but these similar appendages (flippers) evolved to help them survive in an aquatic environment.

Scientific Method Scenario Blog Post

1.    Hypothesis: It is possible that the student is hungry and does not have enough energy to stay awake. 

2.    Test:

a.    I would test this hypothesis by bringing a nutritious energy bar to class and offering it to the student before class begins. I am altering conditions by having the student eat before attending class.

b.    If the student stayed awake, this would support my hypothesis.

c.    If he fell asleep anyway, it would suggest my hypothesis is falsified.

3.    An example of an untestable, unfalsifiable explanation would be that as a child the student was hypnotized by a stranger and instructed to fall asleep during this exact class.