piltdown hoax

Thân thiện

A paleontologist examines a fossil skull that was part of the Piltdown hoax.

Definition

Noun: A famous anthropological fraud in which fabricated bone fragments were presented as the fossilized remains of a previously unknown early human. The discovery, announced in 1912, was claimed to be found near Piltdown, England, and was accepted by many scientists for decades before being definitively exposed as a deliberate hoax in 1953.

Usage

The term is used to refer specifically to this historical scientific forgery. It serves as a cautionary tale in scientific research about the necessity of verification and the dangers of confirmation bias.

Examples

• The Piltdown hoax is one of the most notorious cases of scientific deception in history.
• For over 40 years, the Piltdown hoax misled paleoanthropologists about human evolution.
• Modern analysis revealed the Piltdown hoax was constructed from a human skull and an orangutan's jaw.

Advanced Usage

• "a Piltdown hoax": Used metaphorically to describe any elaborate and convincing fraud, especially in academic or scientific contexts.
  • The fabricated data in the paper was a Piltdown hoax for the modern era.

Variants and Related Words

• Piltdown Man (noun): The name given to the supposed fossil hominid at the center of the hoax.
  • Scientists once believed Piltdown Man was a missing link in human ancestry.

Synonyms

• Scientific forgery
• Archaeological fraud
• Paleontological fake

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "Piltdown-style hoax": Describing a fraud that shares characteristics with the original, such as combining disparate elements to create a convincing fake.
  • The art forgery was a Piltdown-style hoax, expertly blending styles from different periods.

Học thuật

Noun

1. a supposedly primitive man later proven to be a hoax

Từ đồng nghĩa

• Piltdown man
• Piltdown hoax