Farmers found the Maba cranium in 1958 near a Chinese village named Maba. Maba Man was labeled an intermediate in form between
Homo erectus and
H. sapiens; the remains are referred by many authorities to archaic
H. sapiens or to an Asian extension of
H. heidelbergensis. As the scientists did more research on the Maba cranium, they found that the fossils consisted of a skull cap and parts of the right upper face, with parts of the nose also still attached. The scientists saw a connection with
Homo erectus because the brow ridges were pronounced, forming an arch over each eye, and the bones of the brain-case were low and thick. Even so, the brain was apparently larger than that of H. erectus, though precise measurement of cranial capacity is not possible, as the skull's base is incomplete. also exhibits traits representing modern humans and
Neanderthals. If the reconstruction of the skull is accurate, the upper face morphology of the Maba 1 is similar to Neanderthals with a prominent nose and thick
parietal bone at the
bregma. The vertical
frontal squama and thin vault is similar to modern humans. Although we don't have a precise measurement of
cranial capacity, 1300 cc is the estimated cranial capacity assigned to Maba 1. This is in a range similar to modern humans and Neanderthals' cranial capacities. The almost completely fused main cranial
sutures, less pronounced muscular crests, and the rough external surface of the skull indicate the possibility of Maba 1 being a middle-aged male. Postero-lateral to the right frontal
tubercle, Maba 1's extracranial surface exhibits a 14 mm long crescent scar. On the intracranial surface roughly at the same position, a hump about the same size exists. One feature that is worth mentioning is the inferior lateral
orbital margin of Maba 1. While most of the other Pleistocene Chinese hominid specimens have a rounded margin, Maba 1 has a sharp one. Dating of the Maba 1 human fossil is problematic. It could possibly go back to the
Middle Pleistocene, the Middle-Late Pleistocene transition, and
Late Pleistocene, roughly between 300 and 130 ka. The uncertainty of the dating is due to the fact that the original
stratigraphic section is in a deep and narrow crevice the age of which can't be established with certainty. Current chronological data comes from a South Branch Cave 30 meters away from where the cranium was found using
mass-spectrometric U-series, and a
vertebrate tooth using
uranium methods. == Technology ==