An Unofficial 'The Rest Is History' Reading List

483. The Mysterious Case of the Ape Man

August 11, 2024

Description

In Sussex, in 1912, men quarrying in a gravel pit near Piltdown village turned up a human skull. According to Charles Dawson, a lawyer and amateur archeologist with a remarkable track record for...
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Books Referenced

On the Origin of Species

Author: Charles Darwin

Context:

Referenced when discussing Darwin's theory of evolution and noting that he was too nervous to include his theory about human evolution in this earlier work

The Descent of Man

Author: Charles Darwin

Context:

Mentioned as Darwin's 1871 book that advanced the theory that humans, like all animals, are a product of evolution - the theory he had been too nervous to include in Origin of Species

The Lost World

Author: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Context:

Referenced as a novel published in 1912 (the same year as the Piltdown discovery) featuring an expedition to find dinosaurs and ape men as missing links. The hosts note Conan Doyle lived near Piltdown and had met Dawson

The Earliest Englishman

Author: Arthur Smith Woodward

Context:

Woodward's book about Piltdown Man, in which he describes finding the elephant bone that looked like a cricket bat

The Piltdown Man Hoax Case Closed

Author: Miles Russell

Context:

Referenced as Miles Russell's most recent book that conclusively proves Charles Dawson was responsible for the Piltdown Man hoax, described as doing 'what it says on the tin'