The Piltdown man and the Cardiff Giant both had many similarities in type of hoax but outside of that they differed greatly. The Piltdown Man was created in hopes of achieving fame. The creators and those who supported the hoax wanted to show not only their success but also that of England. The Piltdown man was influential in the fact that it was the supposed missing link in human evolution. This was what made it such a great discovery. It provided Dawson with the fame and notoriety he needed to be considered a real scientist and a positive contribution to the archeological and anthropological communities. Conversely the motives behind the Cardiff Giant were almost completely monetarily based. Newell’s hoax was a money-making scheme thinly veiled in his claims of it being a jab at religion. He put huge amounts of money into the creation of the statue and burying it, much more than anyone would for petty retribution. He knew that he could market the giant as a sight seeing venture and put its notoriety to good use.

The hoaxes both has success but in different communities. The Cardiff Giant saw success with the public especially when marketed in a biblical sense due to its religious ties. The Cardiff Giant did not however have any scientific success and was seen as the hoax it was almost immediately. Alternatively, the Piltdown Man saw much more success in the scientific community. It was by many identified as an important archeological find and an actual scientific artifact. While the Piltdown Man had public success, it wasn’t made into the same kind of tourist trap as the Cardiff Giant leading that success to be less notable.

Both of these hoaxes exemplify that even scientists can’t always be trusted to be objective when presented with evidence that fits with there personal convictions. The Piltdown Man is especially important in presenting this idea. Unlike the Cardiff Giant many scientists actually believed in the Piltdown Man and he was a facet in science’s view of human evolution for decades. The Piltdown Man was an example of the exact archaeological find that was being looked for at the time. He supported all the theories that were currently up for debate and when Dawson created the hoax he knew this. When this fake evidence was presented supporting scientist’s ideas, they overlooked the details pointing to a fake in favor of having their theories confirmed. The Piltdown man is an example of the fact that even the best of us will fail to be objective at times and that we must always be skeptical even when it is inconvenient.