47°37′37″N 18°23′02″E / 47.627°N 18.384°E
Samu is the nickname given to a prehistoric man whose remains were found near Vértesszőlős, Hungary. Only a part of the occipital bone was found. The discovery was made on 21 August 1965 during a dig led by László Vértes, and the fossil was named Sámuel, 21 August being the name day of biblical judge Samuel in Hungarian tradition.[1] It has since become widely known as Samu, a Hungarian short form of the name.
Hungarian anthropologist Andor Thoma (1928–2003) initially described it as Homo erectus seu sapiens paleohungaricus. The fossil at the time was believed to be about 500,000 years old. Later analyses[year needed] have revealed a significantly younger age, at between 250,000 and 300,000 years old, and the fossil is now classified as Homo heidelbergensis.[2]
The Vértesszőlős archaeological site itself had been discovered by Márton Pécsi in 1962. Also found at the site were two child teeth, stone tools and a fireplace. The site is now open to the public (Vértesszőlős Őstelep). A replica of the Samu occipital bone is on exhibit in the local museum (the original is kept in the Hungarian National Museum[3]), as well as associated tools and fossilized animal footprints.[2]
"Samu" has become a common name for plastic skeletons shown in biology classes in Hungarian student slang.[4]
References
- ^ János Ladó, Ágnes Bíró, Magyar utónévkönyv (2005), p. 109.
- ^ a b István Fzy, István Szente, Fossils of the Carpathian Region (2013), p. 412.
- ^ Samunak kutya baja. fn.hu, February 9, 2009
- ^ Hogyan beszél ma az ifjúság? (paper on student slang)