Posted on 02/19/2005 7:36:30 AM PST by Woodworker
Panel says professor of human origins made up data, plagiarized works
A flamboyant anthropology professor, whose work had been cited as evidence Neanderthal man once lived in Northern Europe, has resigned after a German university panel ruled he fabricated data and plagiarized the works of his colleagues. Reiner Protsch von Zieten, a Frankfurt university panel ruled, lied about the age of human skulls, dating them tens of thousands of years old, even though they were much younger, reports Deutsche Welle. "The commission finds that Prof. Protsch has forged and manipulated scientific facts over the past 30 years," the university said of the widely recognized expert in carbon data in a prepared statement.
Protsch's work first came under suspicion last year during a routine investigation of German prehistoric remains by two other anthropologists. "We had decided to subject many of these finds to modern techniques to check their authenticity so we sent them to Oxford [University] for testing," one of the researchers told The Sunday Telegraph. "It was a routine examination and in no way an attempt to discredit Prof. von Zieten." In their report, they called Protsch's 30 years of work a "dating disaster."
Among their findings was an age of only 3,300 years for the female "Bischof-Speyer" skeleton, found with unusually good teeth in Northern Germany, that Protsch dated to 21,300 years. Another dating error was identified for a skull found near Paderborn, Germany, that Protsch dated at 27,400 years old. It was believed to be the oldest human remain found in the region until the Oxford investigations indicated it belonged to an elderly man who died in 1750. The Herne anthropological museum, which owned the Paderborn skull, did its own tests following the unsettling results. "We had the skull cut open and it still smelt," said the museum's director. "We are naturally very disappointed."
Protsch, known for his love of Cuban cigars and Porsches, did not comment on the commission's findings, but in January he told the Frankfurter Neue Presse, "This was a court of inquisition. They don't have a single piece of hard evidence against me." The fallout from Protsch's false dating of northern European bone finds is only beginning.
Chris Stringer, a Stone Age specialist and head of human origins at London's Natural History Museum, said: "What was considered a major piece of evidence showing that the Neanderthals once lived in northern Europe has fallen by the wayside. We are having to rewrite prehistory." "Anthropology now has to revise its picture of modern man between 40,000 and 10,000 B.C.," added Thomas Terberger, an archaeologist at the University of Greifswald. Frankfurt University's president, Rudolf Steinberg, apologized for the university's failure to curb Protsch's misconduct for decades. "A lot of people looked the other way," he said.
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Now he'll be in line for some kind of prize for writing science fiction.
Now you've descended into bigotry. Careful Shubi, God's watching.
Do dating disasters lead to Free Republic addictions on weekends?
You are woefully ignorant of the C-14 dating of the Turin Shroud. Note I didn't say all scientists are woefully ignorant, just you.
I swear, some men have ridiculous expectations. You cut open a woman and get disappointed if she doesn't smell like potpourri inside.
Women have enough places on their body they have to deodorize as it is without you guys expecting our intestines to smell fresh.
"Why are "E's" wrong? Be specific."
E's are wrong about creation. Reason they have no understanding why 'flesh' was created. Pretty much the same as the C's cause they have no understanding WHY 'flesh' was created, what we are told about "TIME". But hey Dimensio this was foretold would be the case, three different type of thought are described, and why there are three.
It is written that it is not given for alll to understand.
There is evidence that something cataclysmic took place on this earth million upon millions of years ago. Another 'age'.
We find evidence of all manner of animal and plant life that existed million upon millions of years ago.
What there is NO evidence of are human skeletal remains. Now I grant you there have been some really good art work produced to claim transitions of species over the course of time, but there has been no full skeletal remains discovered. Bits and pieces of bone fragments that used leakey science to make outrageous claims.
Ignoring what is Written or altering what was Written doesn't make one correct. Come on, liberals believe in a system that promotes themselves as "we are god's".
There is a whole dimension out there that flesh man cannot even comprehend let alone show evidence of. We have clues and hints of another dimension, but it is not visible to the flesh man's eye. That dimension gives credibility to the FACT there is a Creator, who is in control allowing his creation to select or elect what to believe.
Man in the flesh dies and rots away, unless mummified, or bones fossilized, if evolution were correct then there would be heaps upon heaps of skeletal remains giving evidence to that theory. There is not one complete human skeletal remain in any shape of transition to give credibility to evolution.
The only 'peer' review I have is what was Written that Instruction Book that E's reject.
You Creation Science link doesn't excuse him. Creation Science and creationists are two entirely different things. Perhaps he misspoke but I don't think so, the term "creationist" is used widely by the science types and almost always in a derogatory manner.
Thanks for that oldie-goldie. A link to the original article is now in the List-O-Links.
You forgot to mention the CREATIONIST who claims that CAPITALISTS used EVOLUTION to defend CAPITALISM. (Which the creationist implies is immoral!)
Evolution does occur. It's just a question as to how much of biodiversity is it responsible.
I personally don't believe in common descent -- albeit there are people I respect who do. I just think it makes much more sense that a whole pile of things got created about 500 million years ago --and the fossil record actually supports this. Of course I'll be accused of being an apostate because I'm an Old Earther.
but evolution, then you deny the bok of Genesis, the very foundation of whay Jesus had to die on the Cross.
You can still believe in the uniqueness of man -- and it's irrational not to as we are obviously unique in nature -- and our fall. And there's nothing wrong with having the faith the Genesis is ultimately going to be proved right, which is not a bad assumption considering the track record of the Bible vs. conventional scientific wisdom. There are those, however, who are trying to play by the rules and do things empirically, and I'm not going to argue faith when they are talking science.
And concerning the New Testament, when you apply standard historical scholarship and archeology to the Gospels, you end up with something that's pretty hard to reason away.
There are several Chinese groups that have sold black-market frauds of "rare, one-of-a-kind fossils" to collectors. Every so often one of these makes it into the main stream.
It is so prevalent, that there is a cycle between these things being credited, and the scientific community ignoring most everything that comes out of China.
And I thought you did a great job in Eyes Wide Shut
I'm pretty sure that those skeletons (Gibralter, and the Neander valley) are not yet challenged.
They have intestines in their heads?
:)
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