Piltdown Hoax

Piltdown was an archaeological site in England where in 1908 and 1912 human, ape and other mammal fossils were found together and given to a local archeologist and lawyer by the name of Charles Dawson. In 1913 at a nearby site was found an ape's jaw with a canine tooth worn down like a human's. This discovery was huge, and the general community of British paleoanthropologists came to accept the idea that the fossil remains belonged to a single creature that had had a human cranium and an ape's jaw. In those times scientist believed they have found the "Missing Link" in human evolution. In 1953, Piltdown 'man' was exposed as a forgery by the use of modern technology that can calculate the age of bones and fossils. The skull was modern and the teeth on the ape's jaw had been filed down This "Piltdown Man" was believed by many to be "the earliest Englishman," and in fact, the missing link between apes and humans. But in 1953, the jawbone was found to be that of a modern ape orangutan, most likely that had been treated with chemicals to make it look as though it had been lying in the ground for hundreds of centuriesMicroscopic study revealed file marks and the teeth were modified to look more human. The perpetrator of the hoax has never been found, though there are theories. Charles Dawson would seem to be the prime suspect, but there is little evidence he did it, and he died in 1916 without leaving a confession. Other suspects over the years have included various acquaintances of Dawson, museum curators, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, the guy in charge of the digging.


The Human fault the came into play was the desire to discover an early englishmen. Human desires led to the acceptance of a hoax that negatively impacted the scientific process down a dead end of false information for about 40 years. The hoax was caused by human rivalry, jealousy, and ambition. Also no one questioned the hoax, many didn't bother to challenge the hoax, they accepted and believed the findings, which allowed the hoax to last for so long.

The positive scientific process that were responsible for revealing the skull to be a fraud was by a fluorine absorption test. The test determines the duration of time an object found in the soil has been there. When the test was done in 1949 on the Piltdown man, Scientist were shocked when they discovered that the fossils were very modern. This was a lessoned learned by the scientific community, and a chance to move on from false discoveries. 

I don’t think it’s possible to remove the “human” factor from science because humans discover and propose new theories. Even though the theory might be false at first but its natural for humans to go through trial and error.There will be someone who revisits the theory that can prove, disprove, or improve a theory.

I Learned that its important to question everything, especially large discoveries such as the "piltdown man". Discoveries should be carefully analyzed by many scientist that will help conclude a reliable theory. 

Primates (Diet)

Primates Environment

  

Lemurs originated in the Madagascar and Comoro Islands. They are very compliant to their surroundings and live in rain forests and desert areas.

    

 Spider monkeys reside in Central and South America in the tropical rain forests.

 Baboons reside in Arabia or Africa. Baboons dwell in savanna, other arid places and in tropical forests.

   

Gibbons inhabit jungles and rain forests in south-east Asia.

   

 Chimpanzees  live within family crowds in the rainforest & have been known to be in swamps, woodlands and bamboo forests.

Primates (Diet)

Lemurs:Lemurs often feed on nuts and fruits that they find in their natural habitat. These items are typically very easy for them to find in the trees. They will consume insects and even small animals when the fruits aren’t in season. Their feeding habits prompt the growth of new trees too.

Spider Monkeys: Spider monkeys are omnivorous more specifically they are categorized as fruigivorous because of their fruit and seed based diet. They also tend to feed on young leaves, flowers, aerial roots, occasionally bark and wood, honey, insects/insect larvae, and bird eggs. Spider monkeys eat while hanging, climbing or moving. Rarely they feed on insect parts, as well as some animal prey.

Baboons: baboons are omnivorous and opportunistic which means that they will eat almost anything and adapt their diets to the environment in which they live. Their diet is diverse but they are highly selective, preferring foods that are higher in protein. Their diet includes a combination of fruit, flowers, seeds, pods, leaves, gum, sap, roots, corms, rhizomes, tubers and bulbs as well as any small animals that they can catch or come across. With their strength and dexterity, baboons are able to extract undergrown growths which are more difficult for the smaller monkeys to feed on. In the Cape Peninsula of South Africa, baboons also feed on shellfish, including mussels, limpets and crabs.

Gibbons:Gibbons eat plants and meat making them omnivores. Searching for fruit most of the time they also eat leaves, flowers, tree bark, seeds and shoots. If they eat shoots they look for the more tender ones. As far as what meat they eat, it usually consists of spiders, small birds and their eggs, and insects. When they drink water they use their fur to soak up the liquid and then rub it on wet leaves enabling them to sip up the water.

Chimpanzees:Unlike other apes such as gorillas and orangutans which are almost entirely herbivorous (plant-eating), chimps are classified as omnivores. This means that, like humans, they eat a variety of plant and animal foods. While the vast bulk of the chimpanzee’s diet is made up of plant foods including fruits, seeds, nuts, leaves and flowers, they will also eat insects and even larger animals that they have hunted and killed themselves.                                     

Environmental Influence (Diet)

     Lemurs have to adapt to the extreme climate and geographical challenges they face, poor soil, low plant productivity and lack of fruit trees. This has driven specific types of lemurs to feed on insect secretions, leaves and tree gum for nutrients to survive. They also have the ability to slow down their metabolism in order to physically function during food shortages.

       Spider monkeys contribute to their environment. They do this by spreading seeds from plants, fruits, and flowers to assist with the growth of trees and vegetation. They have influenced their environment with this trait as well as having adjusted to the drastic and extreme elements of their environment.

         Baboons have adapted to multiple environments making their feeding habits unique. Baboons are what some who study them call opportunistic. What this means is that baboons change their diets along with the change of their environment. Their environment influences them by constantly changing what they have access to eat in order to survive.

        Gibbons are very acrobatic which helps them survive in many environments by providing access to a many variety of foods that are around.

        Chimpanzees are highly intelligent and have been forced to learn skills and knowledge of their surroundings regarding scavenging in order to survive.

Summary

     These primates share similarities in diets, because of their adaption to environmental changes. These animals also go through physical changes in order to survive their surroundings. Lemurs have an incredible sense of smell and heightened vision in the dark. Spider monkeys uses a tail as another limb to maneuver through trees. Baboons are extremely strong which allows them to be on the ground and capture large prey. Gibbons have strong arms that allow them to balance and grip on trees. Chimpanzees are highly intelligent and are skilled scavengers for survival. These primates are what they are because of their environment and how they adapted in order to strive.

Homology & Analogy

Humans have a tailbone which is an Homology trait.

Monkeys have a tailbone which is an Homology trait.


The “tail bone” is the small triangular bone at the lower end of your back bone or vertebral column. Some believed it was the useless or vestigial remains of a tail, left over from monkey-like evolutionary ancestors.The tailbone is a fully functional part of the system of bones, ligaments and muscles of the pelvis, that protects and supports the pelvic organs, and contributes to upright stance and walking in both Humans and Monkeys. It provides stability points for ligaments and muscles which is an essential function of all bones. Without this we don’t move. The Tailbone, is called a tailbone because of its shared lineage. The Difference between Monkeys and Humans is that the monkey's tailbone comes with a Tail, and the Humans Tailbone does not. For Humans, the tailbone is the last vestige for where a tail would be, so its referred to as a "Vestigial".

The Common Ancestor that Monkeys and Humans Shared was some type of early Monkey/ Humanoid species. Both Humans and Monkeys are Vertebrates. We know this ancestor posses the Homology trait of a tailbone because it could stand tall, and both monkeys and humans posses the trait. Somewhere in time the ancestor species had a linear split in mutation passing down the tailbone trait to both monkeys and humans. 

Octopus have eye's, Which is an Analogy trait

Humans have eyes, Which is an Analogy trait



The eyes of the Octopus and eyes in general are interesting in science , because they have evolved independently in many species. The Octopus eyes are similar to Vertebrates, both eyes have evolved lenses and similar muscle structure, however the eyes of the Octopus have no blind spots, unlike humans who's eyes have a blind spot. This advantage of a no blind spot the Octopus posses allows the Octopus to see everything in its environment, which gives the species a better awareness for ocean predators. The Octopus also has more photoreceptors than Humans & vertebrates which allows them to see much better than any human. The Octopus eye cannot see color, because it does not posses cones like humans do, so the Octopus can only see light and dark. 

The common ancestor of these two species possessed an analog trait because the "eye" evolved independently between the two species. We know the common ancestor passed on an analogy trait because Octopuses are Invertebrates and Humans are vertebrates very two big differences in evolved species. Because Humans are vertebrates, we have "Blind Spots". Only Invertebrate species possess non blind spots like the Octopus.