Arthur Smith Woodward

British paleontologist

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July 15, 2026

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Arthur Smith Woodward was a British paleontologist who played a role in the Piltdown man hoax. In 1912, he announced the discovery of fossil remains in England, which he claimed represented a new species of extinct hominin, Eoanthropus dawsoni, or "dawn man". Woodward suggested these fossils were a crucial missing link between apes and early humans and asserted they were about 500,000 years old.1

The Piltdown fossils were later revealed to be a fraudulent combination of a modern human cranium, an orangutan's jaw, and a chimpanzee's tooth, stained to appear ancient. This deception significantly hindered the understanding of human evolution for over 40 years. Kenneth Oakley, using fluorine dating, was instrumental in exposing the fraud in 1953.12

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Today in History—December 18
Piltdown Man: The Missing Link That Wasn’t
…day in 1912, respected paleontologist Arthur Smith Woodward of the British Museum made an announcement that seemed to rewrite human history. For the next 40 years, anyway.
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…day in 1912, respected paleontologist Arthur Smith Woodward of the British Museum made an announcement that seemed to rewrite human history. For the next 40 years, anyway.
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Piltdown man
Discoveries
Dawson took the specimens to Arthur Smith Woodward, keeper of the British Museum’s paleontology department, who announced the find at a meeting of the Geological Society of London on December 18, 1912. Woodward claimed that the fossils represented a previously unknown species of extinct hominin (Eoanthropus dawsoni, or “dawn man”)…
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Dawson took the specimens to Arthur Smith Woodward, keeper of the British Museum’s paleontology department, who announced the find at a meeting of the Geological Society of London on December 18, 1912. Woodward claimed that the fossils represented a previously unknown species of extinct hominin (Eoanthropus dawsoni, or “dawn man”)…
Read More