A dutch mining engineer named BD van Rietshoten was looking for marble and discovered a fossil human skull near the village of Wadjak on the east coast of Java in 1888.
Rietschoten sent the skull to Dubois. He was delighted and departed for Java where he found a second skull (Wadjak II) and fragments of a skeleton.
Again he failed to properly map out and keep track of the dig site.
These skulls, which were found before the Java man were truly those of a modern man.
The Wadjak skulls were found in 1888 and 1890. Dubois brought them back in 1895 and kept them hidden in his home. He made no public announcement until May 1920, 30 years later!!!!
Why did Dubois keep this discovery at Wadjak a secret for 30 years?
Read on.
Dubois was well aware of the fact that there was strong evidence that the Wadjk skulls were the same age as the Java man skull. So to sell the world on Java man being the "missing link" Dubois had to hide Wadjak man.
1891, one year after Wadjak II was discovered, Dubois discovered the Java man, who's appearance would be much easier to sell as the "missing link". To then reveal Wadjak man, who was from the same period, would totally destroy any chance he had to sell the world on Java man.
This is what we have been taught for almost 100 years. This is the history behind it.
But to quote the author of Bones of Contention:
"All fossils are not created equal"
Those that fit we use, those that do not we hide.