Final answer:
The Piltdown Man was a hoax involving modified human and ape bones, which was falsely presented as a 'missing link' in human evolution. It was included in our family tree until advanced testing methods revealed the fraud, leading to its removal from the evolutionary model.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Piltdown Man was a paleoanthropological hoax consisting of fragmentary remains purported to be the fossilized bones of a previously unknown early human. These remains were claimed to have been found in Piltdown, East Sussex, England, in 1912. The physical characteristics presented by the fabricated bones included a human-like cranium and an ape-like jaw, which seemed to suggest that the Piltdown Man was a missing link in human evolution and was therefore included in our family tree. The evidence contradicted well-established evolutionary theories and genuine fossil records because the anatomical features did not align with the transitional forms that were expected.
The controversy surrounding Piltdown Man lasted for over 40 years until it was conclusively exposed as a hoax in 1953. The method to reveal the hoax involved fluorine testing and other techniques that showed the bones had been artificially stained to appear ancient and that the teeth had been filed down to simulate more wear than they had endured. This discovery led to the removal of Piltdown Man from the human family tree, and it remains an infamous example of scientific fraud.