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Boldest Hoax, The
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Program Overview
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NOVA investigates the Piltdown hoax, the people who may have been
involved, and the potential reasons for the forgery.
The program:
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reviews Charles Darwin's 1859 theory of evolution that drove the
hunt to find the "missing link" in human
development—fossil evidence for a species that would
bridge the evolutionary gap between apes and humans.
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notes that while Germany, Spain, and France all had evidence of
early man, Britain had none.
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relates how the skull and jawbone found at Piltdown, England, in
1912 were purported to belong to the earliest human ever
discovered.
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states the early suspicions of some scientists who questioned
the authenticity of the artifacts.
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reports subsequent finds that supported the legitimacy of the
Piltdown man: a canine tooth discovered in 1913 at the original
site and a second skull and tooth unearthed two years later just
a few miles away.
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notes how the hoax was exposed in 1953 by Kenneth Oakley, a
scientist whose dating technique revealed the Piltdown artifacts
were not as old as presumed.
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reports further revelations that the skull had been stained, the
canine tooth painted and filed, other teeth filed flat, and the
jaw obtained from a common orangutan.
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investigates the potential mastermind(s) of the hoax and what
may have motivated each of them.
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reviews the case against Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the mystery
writer whose "Lost World" may contain clues relating to the
hoax.
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assesses the character of Charles Dawson, an amateur
archeologist who first brought the finds to the attention of the
science community.
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presents the evidence against Sir Arthur Smith Woodward, a
geologist at the then British Museum of Natural History.
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explores evidence regarding museum volunteer Martin Hinton's
role in the forgery.
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theorizes which of the potential instigators might have been
involved with the hoax.
Taping Rights: Can be used up to one year after the program
is taped off the air.
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