The Piltdown man sketched by A. Forestier after Professor Keith's reconstruction, and an inset showing an alterative reconstruction after Dr. A. Smith Woodward. The discovery, made by Charles Dawson in a gravel deposit near Piltdown Common, of part of a jaw and a portion of the skull, aroused great interest. Presumed to be the remains of the oldest known inhabitant of Europe, the Piltdown man was thought to be the 'missing link', until it was found to be an elaborate hoax in the early 1950s.