I’m taking an anthropology class that’s currently mostly about paleoanthropology and prehistoric archaeology, and a little bit of paleontology, so I think I can name at least three more frauds (not including the two you mentioned):
-The Cardiff Giant
-That Fujimura guy who was planting things in Japan
-The Calaveras Skull in California
-The fake artifacts in the Pachaug Forest
Well, I’m feeling a little more confident about my ability to pass my exam =)
You’d probably enjoy this book I’ve been reading called ‘Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries’ and it has a couple chapters that cover hoaxes but it also gets into debunking or explaining stuff like prehistoric UFO’s and Atlantis. It’s really fascinating and scientifically solid.
And, just on a random interesting note, Darwin only vaguely hinted at human evolution in Origin of Species, and then only in the last sentence. I guess he was expecting too much opposition from the people that wanted to believe that humans are completely special and separate beings than animals (instead of just ‘higher’ animals), or he wanted to hold on to those beliefs himself. And something even more interesting: Darwin wasn’t the first person to propose evolution - Aristotle was. Darwin was the first person to come up with a detailed and reasonable-sounding explanation of the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of evolution.
You noted four "frauds" in your post. I think you perhaps are incorrect on these, as none relate to evolution.
-The Cardiff Giant: This had nothing to do with science. It was certainly a fraud and a hoax, but it was done for showmanship and greed, not science. And it certainly had nothing to do with paleontology or evolution.
-That Fujimura guy who was planting things in Japan: This was archaeology, and stone tools, not paleontology.
-The Calaveras Skull in California: This was apparently a recent Indian skull planted deep in a mine. It has nothing to do with paleontology.
-The fake artifacts in the Pachaug Forest: Again, this is archaeology and not paleontology.
I think my challenge to come up with five examples of fraud in evolution may still be intact.