The Qur’an An Abiding Wonder
The Qur’an: The Book of God
~ 39 ~
In 1912, the English newspapers trumpeted the
news that a fragment of an ancient skull, half, ape
and half man, dating back to some nebulous, pre-
historic period, had been found at Piltdown, thus
providing material evidence which confirmed
Darwin’s theory of evolution.
This Piltdown Man achieved instant popularity. The
name appeared in standard text, books such as R.S.
Lull’s
Organic Evolution.
Leading intellectuals
counted the discovery among the great triumphs of
modern man. In authoritative works such as H.G.
Wells’
Outline of History
and Bertrand Russell’s
History of Western Philosophy,
it was mentioned as
though there was no doubt about the Piltdown
Man’s existence.
For nearly half a century scholars remained
enthralled with this “great discovery.” It was only
in 1953 that some scientists became doubtful. They
extracted the Piltdown man from its iron, fire-proof
box in the British Museum and subjected it to
detailed, modern, scientific analysis, studying it
from every relevant angle. Their final conclusion
was that the Piltdown Man was a forgery. The great
