偽造化石
Piltdown Man is one of the greatest archaeological hoaxes in scientific history.
皮爾當人是科學史上最大的考古騙局之一。
archaeological (adj.)考古學的、跟考古相關的archaeology (n.)考古學
In 1912, Charles Dawson, a British amateur archaeologist, claimed that he had discovered the “missing link” in the evolution from apes to humans in Piltdown, England.
在1912年，英國業餘考古學家道森宣稱他在英國皮爾當發現證明猿進化成人類所「缺失的連結」。
amateur (adj.)業餘的、非職業的professional (adj.)職業的evolution (n.)演化、進化revolution (n.)革命
However, in 1953, Dawson’s fossils were proven to be forgeries.
然而，在1953年，道森的化石被證實是造假的。
forgery (n.)偽造品=fake
The story of Piltdown Man is more than just scientific fraud.
皮爾當人的故事不僅是一場科學騙局。
fraud (n.)騙局、詐騙、騙子insurance fraud 保險詐欺
It actually has basis in geopolitical rivalries around the turn of the 20th century.
它事實上源自於19和20世紀交替之際的地緣政治角力。
rivalry (n.)競爭、對抗
In 1907, a significant fossil of an early human was discovered in Germany, leading other countries, including Britain, to desire their own fossils to raise national pride.
在1907年，一個重要的早期人類化石於德國被發現，造成包含英國在內的其他國家都渴望找到自己的化石，以提升國族自信。
lead sb. to VR 導致某人～pride (n.)自豪、驕傲
With this in mind, Dawson first reported finding skull fragments in a gravel pit in Piltdown in 1908.
有鑑於此，道森在1908年首次傳出在皮爾當一處沙礫坑中找到頭骨碎片。
with sth. in mind 有鑑於……、考慮到……fragment (n.)碎片pit (n.)坑sandpit (n.)沙坑
Over the next few years, Dawson was joined by other amateur archaeologists who produced a jawbone, a tooth and stone tools from the site as well.
在接下來的幾年，其他加入道森的業餘考古學家也在該處找到了一個下顎骨、一顆牙齒和一些石製工具。
an archaeological site 考古遺址
All of these were attributed to an early human named Piltdown Man.
這些都被歸屬於名為皮爾當人的早期人類。
attribute (v.)把……歸因於、認為……是某人所有
As all of the fossils had the same dark reddish-brown color as the surrounding Pleistocene or Pliocene gravel pits in which they were discovered, Dawson’s friend, and researcher at the Natural History Museum, Arthur Smith Woodward, hypothesized that Piltdown Man was the missing link—a human ancestor that lived 500,000 years ago.
由於這些化石和它們被發現的更新世或上新世石礫坑周遭一樣，都有相同的暗紅褐顏色，道森的朋友，也就是自然史博物館研究員伍德沃德便假設皮爾當人就是那缺失的連結──存活於五十萬年前的人類祖先。
hypothesize (v.)假設
Many in the scientific community believed the findings.
科學界許多人都相信這些發現。
finding (n.)調查或研究的發現
However, after discoveries of real human fossils in the 1920s and 1930s, people began to doubt Piltdown Man’s authenticity.
然而，在1920年代和1930年代找到真正的人類化石之後，人們開始懷疑皮爾當人的真實性。
doubt (v.)懷疑authenticity (n.)真實性authentic (adj.)真的、真實的、正宗的authentic leather 真皮authentic Taiwanese food 正宗台灣料理
In the 1950s, researchers used new scientific methods to prove that Dawson’s “fossils” were forged, reinforcing the lesson that scientists should not see what they want to see, but rather strongly scrutinize all new discoveries.
在1950年代時，研究人員用新的科學方法證明道森的「化石」是偽造的，進一步說明了科學家不應該只看見他們想看見的，而是應該仔細查驗所有的新發現。
forge (v.)偽造、假冒reinforce (v.)加深、強化lesson (n.)教訓scrutinize (v.)細看、仔細審查