Today we're thinking about archaeological forgeries, fakes and hoaxes. Some do it for the money, to prove their theory correct or to boost their reputation, for others it seems compulsive.
Let's look at some of the most infamous forgers of the last few hundred years:
Let's look at some of the most infamous forgers of the last few hundred years:
1. Brigido Lara.
In 1974 Mexican police arrested a group of antique smugglers, one of them made an unusual defence plea. Claiming that he couldn't be a smuggler, since all his work was a forgery, Brigido Lara was about to make history.
In 1974 Mexican police arrested a group of antique smugglers, one of them made an unusual defence plea. Claiming that he couldn't be a smuggler, since all his work was a forgery, Brigido Lara was about to make history.
His pottery was declared by an expert to be genuine and he went to prison, there he requested clay and made a prehistoric Mesoamerican replica, which was authenticated as genuine by the same expert. He was freed in 1975.
It turned out that Lara had potentially made up to 40,000 pieces of Mayan, Aztec and other prehistoric pottery. Maybe all the known Totonac ceramic artefacts were made by him. Embarrassingly, museums around the world had bought many of his pieces, for huge sums of money.
He was later hired by the Xalapa Anthropology Museum to make replicas, restore broken objects and help detect forgeries.
2. George Hull.
In 1869 the ten ft likeness of a man was found in Cardiff, NY. The limestone body was declared to be a petrified giant. He became an immediate attraction, audiences paying to see this Biblical figure. It was however the brainchild of a local tobacconist.
In 1869 the ten ft likeness of a man was found in Cardiff, NY. The limestone body was declared to be a petrified giant. He became an immediate attraction, audiences paying to see this Biblical figure. It was however the brainchild of a local tobacconist.
George Hull wanted to reveal the gullibility of many Christians, and commissioned a gypsum statue be carved in his likeness, then aged with acid. He later confessed to the giant being a hoax, but it wasn't to be his last.
In 1877 another petrified human body was unearthed in Colorado. At 7ft tall, with a knowing smile, the figure was named Solid Muldoon after a wrestler. Hull had made him from rocks, clay, plaster, bone, blood and flesh, then baked him and hid him under a cedar tree.
3. The Persian Princess
Some hoaxes are much darker than others. In 2000 an apparently mummified body emerged from Balochistan in Pakistan. The police recovered it as part of a murder investigation, and the body was identified as a 600 BC princess by Pakistani archaeologists.
Some hoaxes are much darker than others. In 2000 an apparently mummified body emerged from Balochistan in Pakistan. The police recovered it as part of a murder investigation, and the body was identified as a 600 BC princess by Pakistani archaeologists.
Something was wrong though - the breastplate inscription 'I am the daughter of Xerxes' was incorrect, the body was too young, the heart had been removed, which was not consistent with known mummification practices at the time.
In fact, the body was that of a 25yo Pakistani woman, who was likely murdered and mummified, before being placed in a 250 yo coffin. Her teeth had been removed, along with her organs, the whole process planned out in advance, using numerous experts to create the ensemble.
4. Charles Dawson.
The Piltdown Man is probably the most famous archaeological fake in history, the 1912 discovery of a half ape/half human skull in East Sussex. It wasn't confirmed a hoax until 1953, and the identity of the forger is still debated.
The Piltdown Man is probably the most famous archaeological fake in history, the 1912 discovery of a half ape/half human skull in East Sussex. It wasn't confirmed a hoax until 1953, and the identity of the forger is still debated.
Charles Dawson has always been the most likely candidate, not only did he find the skull, but his subsequent forgeries have been uncovered over the years. These have included fake rare bird sightings, new species of fish, sea serpents in the English Channel and petrified toads.
At least 38 fake archaeological artefacts have been linked to Dawson, inc statues, stone tools, boats, Roman tiles, bronze vessels and filed down teeth. The man couldn't help himself, enjoying his reputation as a 'finder', but the consequences for his field were long lasting.
5. Fujimura Shinichi.
Fujimura shot to fame as an amateur archaeologist in Japan during the 70's and 80's, he was dubbed the man with 'divine hands', since he always found artefacts wherever he dug.
Fujimura shot to fame as an amateur archaeologist in Japan during the 70's and 80's, he was dubbed the man with 'divine hands', since he always found artefacts wherever he dug.
His claims to finding older and older stone tools became more outlandish as time went on, moving from 50k, to 300k to over 500k years old, something which would radically rewrite Japanese and world history. Some were suspicious however.
In 2000 he declared that his team had recovered tools dating to 570kya. Sadly for him, a major newspaper then published pics of him digging holes and burying these tools the day before the dig. He admitted to the hoax, claiming he had been "possessed by an uncontrollable urge".
Almost all of his subsequent finds were declared to be forgeries, either through reusing older artefacts or making and planting fakes. The whole affair was devastating for Japanese archaeology, which has since reviewed many of its methods for the Palaeolithic era.
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