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.

[3] Showing not only characteristics of H. erectus, archaic H. sapiens and H. heidelbergensis, Maba 1 (museum number PA 84)[4] 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.

[6] 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.

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.

The list includes Macaca sp., Rhinopithecus tingianus, Pongo sp., Rattus rattus, Hystrix sp., Hystrix subcristata, Cuon javanicus, Ailuropoda melanoleuca fovealis, Ursus thibetanus, Arctonyx collaris, Paguma larvata, Viberra zibetha expectata, Crocuta ultima, Felis sp., Panthera tigris, Stegodon orientalis, Palaeoloxodon namadicus, Megatapirus augustus, Rhinoceros sinensis, Tapirus sp., Sus scrofa, Sus sp., Muntiacus muntjak, Cervus unicolor, Hydropotes sp.,  Bubalus sp., Testudo tungia, Parasilurus asotus, Pelteobagrus fulvidraco, Unio sp., Corbicula sp., along with Caprinae indent, Trionychidae indet, Cyprinidae indet, Gastropoda, a small number of bird keel bones and snake spine bones.