Subscribe to Receive the Daily Report

Monday, January 19th, 2015

History of modern man unravels as German scholar is exposed as fraud

Author:     Luke Harding
Source:     The Guardian (U.K.)
Publication Date:     Friday 18 February 2005 20.25 EST
 Link: History of modern man unravels as German scholar is exposed as fraud
Stephan:   This is a cautionary tale at two levels: First, our understanding of early man has been compromised. How much will take time to work out. Second, it shows the strength of science. When the fraud was recognized his discipline and university acknowledged it and dealt with it. Can you imagine any bank or investment house acting similarly? Independent of whatever comes of this legally, for the remainder of his life Professor Reiner Protsch von Zieten will be a pariah. They will teach courses on the case study of his villainy. Third, it shows how important it is that scientists are individuals of integrity. The work of even one prominent corrupted scientist can impact an entire discipline. This is why the practice in medicine of prominent physicians putting their names on studies which they do not in fact directly carry out, or control, is such a grievous ethical lapse. And it is not just a corruption of science. Such "third-party" studies are specifically funded and designed to produce positive evidence that a pharmaceutical company can use in the promotion of a new drug. The drugs can have health consequences involving multitudes.
Professor Reiner Protsch von Zieten Credit: www.mittelbayerische.de

Professor Reiner Protsch von Zieten
Credit: www.mittelbayerische.de

BERLIN — It appeared to be one of archaeology’s most sensational finds. The skull fragment discovered in a peat bog near Hamburg was more than 36,000 years old – and was the vital missing link between modern humans and Neanderthals.

This, at least, is what Professor Reiner Protsch von Zieten – a distinguished, cigar-smoking German anthropologist – told his scientific colleagues, to global acclaim, after being invited to date the extremely rare skull.

However, the professor’s 30-year-old academic career has now ended in disgrace after the revelation that he systematically falsified the dates on this and numerous other “stone age” relics.

Yesterday his university in Frankfurt announced the professor had been forced to retire because of numerous “falsehoods and manipulations”. According to experts, his deceptions may mean an entire tranche of the history of man’s development will have to be rewritten.

“Anthropology is going to have to completely revise its picture of modern man between 40,000 and 10,000 years ago,” said Thomas Terberger, the archaeologist who discovered the hoax. “Prof Protsch’s work appeared to prove […]

Read the Full Article