On the night of December 18, 1912, a packed meeting of the Geological Society of London listened to Charles Dawson, a rural lawyer and an amateur geologist, make an exciting announcement: he had found evolution's missing link in an old gravel pit near Piltdown Common. Together with Arthur Smith Woodward, Keeper of Geology at the British Museum and a noted authority on prehistoric archaeology, Dawson had discovered the shattered remnants of a thick, human-like skull together with a simian jaw--the fossils of a strange ...
Read More
On the night of December 18, 1912, a packed meeting of the Geological Society of London listened to Charles Dawson, a rural lawyer and an amateur geologist, make an exciting announcement: he had found evolution's missing link in an old gravel pit near Piltdown Common. Together with Arthur Smith Woodward, Keeper of Geology at the British Museum and a noted authority on prehistoric archaeology, Dawson had discovered the shattered remnants of a thick, human-like skull together with a simian jaw--the fossils of a strange creature halfway between apes and human beings. Though debates raged over reconstructing Piltdown Man from these remains, few doubted their authenticity--and it was not until forty years later that further tests proved they were an elaborate fake. Written by anthropologist Frank Spencer, Piltdown tells the story of this incredible hoax, the greatest forgery in the history of modern science. Spencer begins by taking us back to the debates in Edwardian Britain over the antiquity of Homo sapiens and the public excitement over the search for the missing link between apes and human beings. He recounts Dawson's initial "discovery" of the shattered skull, the further dramatic finds made with Woodward in the midst of the furious scientific debate over Piltdown Man, and the great public argument between Woodward and Arthur Keith over the reconstruction of the head (Keith, an anatomist and Conservator of the Hunterian Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, won fame by promoting his own theory of a very human-like version of the Piltdown skull). Spencer also traces the increasing confusion and doubt over Piltdown Man as later archaeological discoveries were made in Africa and China: the Piltdown Man didn't seem to fit the emerging picture of human evolution, and an ever-larger number of scientists claimed that the jaw did not belong with the skull. Finally, he captures the dramatic uncovering of the hoax, closely following anthropologist Joseph Weiner's fascinating investigation in 1953. Weiner--troubled by the inconsistencies of Piltdown Man--revealed that the remains consisted of a modern human skull and the jaw of an orangutan, treated with chemicals to simulate great age and planted at the Piltdown site. Yet the question of who perpetrated the forgery has remained to the present day. Certainly Dawson, a rural solicitor who craved a great scientific reputation, was intimately involved. But who provided the tremendous expertise behind the hoax, and why would such a learned authority risk his career on a highly public fake? Was it Woodward, the great archaeologist most closely associated with the find? Keith, the prominent anatomist? Or was it Teilhard de Chardin, the French priest who found a critical tooth at the site? Spencer draws on original documents from the archives of the British Museum and other sources to identify the missing conspirator, in a startling and convincing revelation. Compelling and authoritative, Piltdown offers a gripping account of this great hoax and the final word on one of the deepest mysteries of modern science.
Read Less
Add this copy of Piltdown: a Scientific Forgery to cart. $4.99, very good condition, Sold by Brit Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Milton Keynes, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1991 by Oxford University Press.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Simply Brit – welcome to our online used book store, where affordability meets great quality. Dive into a world of captivating reads without breaking the bank. We take pride in offering a wide selection of used books, from classics to hidden gems, ensuring there's something for every literary palate. All orders are shipped within 24 hours and our lightning fast-delivery within 48 hours coupled with our prompt customer service ensures a smooth journey from ordering to delivery. Discover the joy of reading with us, your trusted source for affordable books that do not compromise on quality.
Add this copy of Piltdown: a Scientific Forgery / Frank Spencer to cart. $12.94, like new condition, Sold by MW Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Galway, G, IRELAND, published 1990 by London; New York: Oxford University Press.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fine cloth copy in an equally fine dw. Particularly and surprisingly well-preserved; tight, bright, clean and especially sharp-cornered.; 272 pages; Description: xxvi, 272 p. : ill.; 25 cm. Subjects: Piltdown forgery.
Y RHYL. Sir Ddinbych. CYMRU,
SIR DDINBYCH,
UNITED KINGDOM
$10.15
$30.00
Add this copy of Piltdown-a Scientific Forgery to cart. $10.15, like new condition, Sold by Siop y Morfa rated 1.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Y RHYL. Sir Ddinbych. CYMRU, SIR DDINBYCH, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1990 by Natural History Museum Publications, Oxford University Press, London-1990.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
272pp. F/VG+. illustrated. Frank Spencer has made an extensive study of the original documents and other available evidence, which he presents in this book.
Add this copy of Piltdown: a Scientific Forgery to cart. $11.05, like new condition, Sold by Archer's Used & Rare Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Kent, OH, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Oxford Univ. Press.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fine Condition in Near Fine jacket. Dust Jacket is in near-fine condition, without tears or chips. Quantity Available: 1. Category: True Crime; Biology; ISBN: 0198585225. ISBN/EAN: 9780198585220. Pictures of this item not already displayed here available upon request. Inventory No: 15898.
Add this copy of Piltdown: a Scientific Forgery to cart. $11.95, like new condition, Sold by Bruce Irving rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Haworth, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Oxford University Press.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fine in Fine jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. Fine in a near fine dustjacket. clean, tight and sound copy. Unravelling the details of this anthropological fraud.
Add this copy of Piltdown: a Scientific Forgery to cart. $11.99, very good condition, Sold by The Maryland Book Bank rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from baltimore, MD, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Oxford University Press, USA.
Add this copy of Piltdown: a Scientific Forgery to cart. $12.00, like new condition, Sold by Basement Seller 101 rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Cincinnati, OH, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Oxford University Press.
Add this copy of Piltdown: a Scientific Forgery to cart. $14.99, very good condition, Sold by Book Bear rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from West Brookfield, MA, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Oxford University Press.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Near Fine. Near Fine Dust Jacket. 4to-over 9¾-12" tall. pp. 272. 272 pp. Tightly bound. Corners not bumped. Text is free of markings. No ownership markings. Near fine dust jacket. This copy is smyth sewn. Smyth sewing is a method of bookbinding where groups of folded pages (referred to as signatures) are stitched together using binder thread. Each folded signature is sewn together individually with multiple stitches and then joined with other signatures to create the complete book block. This is the traditional and best method of bookbinding.
Add this copy of Piltdown: A Scientific Forgery to cart. $15.00, very good condition, Sold by Gail P Kennon Book-Comber rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from West New York, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Oxford.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very Good+/Very Good hard cover. Large 8vo, boards, 272pp, illus. edgewear, creases back foot & tears taped inside dust jacket. clean, tight, text. science.
Add this copy of Piltdown: a Scientific Forgery to cart. $16.99, very good condition, Sold by hellertownbooks rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hellertown, PA, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Oxford University Press.
