RefNoMM/24/18
LevelItem
TitleLetter from Sir Arthur Keith, Buckston Browne Farm, Downe, Farnborough, Kent, to Robert Broom
Date28 August 1944
DescriptionAcknowledges Broom's letter with the outlines of Plesianthropus and Paranthropus. Keith claims to be a mollusc stuck in his parish and applauds Broom's youth. 'You young and robust are everywhere on the hunt .. for secrets relating to skeletons in the human cupboard'. He shall feel relieved when he can accept Broom's contentions with an easy heart. Things are moving against Germany and Keith hopes Germany will be down and out by the time his letter reaches Broom.
Extent2p
FormatManuscript
PhysicalDescriptionOn paper
AccessStatusOpen
AdminHistoryAt the time of this letter Keith was 78 and Broom 77. Keith was an anatomist who made several important discoveries in that field, but is mostly remembered for his work at Piltdown in association with the amateur antiquarian Charles Dawson. Keith worked at the site and reconstructed the skull. The letter to Broom was written about a decade before the exposure of the Piltdown hoax, but the phrase 'for secrets relating to skeletons in the human cupboard' will catch the attention of those who suspect Keith as the mastermind behind it.
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