It has not been dated directly, and is estimated to be roughly 0.5 million years old.

[1] The remains, which included a fragment of lower jaw, were found on an exposed surface between shifting sand dunes on the farm Elandsfontein, which is located near Hopefield, South Africa.

It was found associated with a variety of fossil vertebrates, and initially classified as Homo saldanensis (Drennan 1955).

Singer (1954) noted close resemblance to Kabwe 1 at Broken Hill (Zambia) and LH 18 at Laetoli (Tanzania).

[2][a] Comparison with Kabwe 1 specifically, and thus classification as African H. heidelbergensis (H. rhodesiensis) was also regularly supported by later authors.