In 1934 the anthropologist Gustav Heinrich Ralph von Koenigswald started to examine the area. During excavations in the next years fossils of some of the first known human ancestors, Pithecanthropus erectus ("Java Man"), were found here. Until today about 60 more fossils, among them Meganthropus, were also found here.
Sangiran 2 is fossil braincase with a partially preserved supraorbital torus over the left eye.
Dating the fossils at Sangiran is extremely difficult, with sediment ages (based on different methods and localities) ranging from 1.8 million to 700,000 years ago.
It is unlikely that the two extremes represent the actual age of the beds, and an older limit of 1.6 million years is reasonalble.
Meganthropus is a name commonly given to several large jaw and skull fragments from Sangiran, Central Java.
The original scientific name was Meganthropus paleojavanicus, and while it is very uncommonly considered valid today, the genus name has survived as a sort of formal nickname for the fossils.
However, Andrew Kramer analyzed the same fossil and came to the conclusion that the "sagittal crest" was due to damage, and that the specimen showed remarkable similarities with Sangiran 4, a certain H.
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