The Calaveras Skull was a hoax perpetrated by miners in Calaveras County, California. A hoax is an attempt to trick an audience into believing that something false is real. ... Calaveras County is a county located in Californias Gold Country. ...

On February 25, 1866, miners found a human skull in a mine, beneath a layer of lava, 130 feet (39 m) below the surface of the earth. The skull found its way to Josiah Whitney, then the State Geologist of California as well as a Professor of Geology at Harvard University. A year before the skull came to his attention, Whitney had published his belief that humans, mastodons, and elephants had coexisted in California, and the skull only served as proof of his convictions. After careful study, he officially announced its discovery on July 16, 1866 at a meeting of the California Academy of Science. He claimed that it was evidence of the existence of Pliocene age man in North America, which would make it the oldest known record of humans on the continent. February 25 is the 56th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1866 (MDCCCLXVI) is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... A hippopotamus skull A skull, or cranium, is a bony structure of Craniates which serves as the general framework for a head. ... Look up lava, Aa, and pahoehoe in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Portrait of Josiah Whitney by Silas Selleck, 1863 Josiah Dwight Whitney (November 23, 1819-August 15, 1896) was a professor of geology at Harvard University (from 1865), and was chief of the California Geological Survey (1860-1874). ... A geologist is a contributor to the science of geology, studying the physical structure and processes of the Earth. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 3rd 410,000 km² 402. ... Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ... A Mastodon skeleton in museum in Bismarck, North Dakota. ... Genera and Species Loxodonta Loxodonta cyclotis Loxodonta africana Elephas Elephas maximus Elephas recki † Stegodon † Mammuthus † Elephantidae (the elephants) is a family of animals, and the only remaining family in the order Proboscidea. ... July 16 is the 197th day (198th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 168 days remaining. ... 1866 (MDCCCLXVI) is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... The Pliocene epoch (formerly Pleiocene) is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ...

However, its authenticity was immediately challenged. In 1869 a San Francisco newspaper reported that a miners had told a minister that the skull was planted as a practical joke. Thomas Wilson of Harvard ran a fluorine analysis on it in 1879, with the results indicating it was of recent origin. It was so widely believed to be a hoax that Bret Harte famously wrote a satirical poem called "To the Pliocene Skull" in 1899. 1869 (MDCCCLXIX) is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... General Name, Symbol, Number fluorine, F, 9 Chemical series halogens Group, Period, Block 17, 2, p Appearance pale greenish-yellow gas Atomic mass 18. ... 1879 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Francis Bret Harte (August 25, 1836–May 6, 1902) was an American author and poet, best remembered for his accounts of pioneering life in California. ... 1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

Nevertheless, Whitney did not waver in his belief that it was genuine. His successor at Harvard, F.W. Putnam also believed it to be real. By 1901 Putnam was determined to discover the truth and he headed to California. While there, he was told a story that in 1865 a number of Indian skulls had been dug up from a nearby burial site, one which had been planted in the mine so that workers would later find it. Despite hearing this story, Putnam was still not ready to declare the skull a fake. Instead he simply conceded that "It may be impossible ever to determine to the satisfaction of the archaeologist the place where the skull was actually found." 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ...

To further complicate the issue, careful comparison of the skull with descriptions of it at the time of its discovery revealed that the skull Whitney had in his possession was not the one originally found.

However, J.M. Boutwell, investigating in 1911, was told by one of the participants in the discovery that the whole thing was indeed a hoax. 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ...

Despite this, the Calaveras Skull continues to be cited by creationists as "proof" that paleontologists ignore evidence that doesn't fit their theories, although others have rightfully noted that the Calaveras Skull cannot be used as such. Creationism is generally the belief that the universe was created by a deity, or alternatively by one or more powerful and intelligent beings. ... A paleontologist carefully chips rock from a column of dinosaur vertebrae. ...

References

• "The Calaveras Skull", Museum of Hoaxes
• Conrad, Ernest C., "Are There Human Fossils in the "Wrong Place" for Evolution?, National Center for Science Education Newsletter, Spring 1982
• "The Calaveras Skull Revisited, Talk.Origins
• "In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood, Center for Scientific Creation
• "Arguments we think creationists should NOT use, Answers in Genesis