It was discovered at Sterkfontein, South Africa by Robert Broom and John T. Robinson in August 1947, and is estimated to be about 2.5 million years old.

The specimen consists of a pelvis, vertebral column and fragmentary rib and femur.

Notable characteristics include the distinctly human-like shape of its pelvic blades, indicating a type of bipedalism.

Curiously, the specimen has six lumbar vertebrae, more than either most humans, who have five, or modern apes, which may have five or fewer.

[2] The specimen's sacrum contains an unfused intervertebral disk between the first and second sacral vertebrae, suggesting that the individual died before reaching maturity.