The Anthropology Song - A little bit Anthropologist

While most people are still able to (albeit it probably a bit incorrectly) answer what an archaeologist does, anthropologists are a species less known to the general public and media. Derived from the Greek 'anthropos' (human), anthropology means, 'the social science that studies the origins and social relationships of human beings' according to the Princeton WordNet, and is most often used to refer to 'cultural anthropology'.  But anthropology student Dai Cooper is doing her bit to make the discipline just that bit more famous... on YouTube. In just a few weeks, the 'Anthropology Song: A little bit Anthropologist' has become immensely popular, especially for a song about anthropology, even threatening to beat the usual YouTube hits 'cat being cute' and 'cat acting like a typical cat' in the charts.

With catchy lyrics like "But I’m just looking for the story of our people as a whole, wanting to learn about and understand all cultures as our own …" Dai Cooper admits to romanticizing 'anthropology' - it's a personal song after all - but is looking forward to a constructive discussion about the discipline, and added verses to the song.

Personally, I'll consider this my 'intro to anthropology', having learned that:

• President Obama's mom is an anthropologist.
• Anthropology covers monkeys too.
• Some anthropology students can sing.

Anthropology has been catching our eye recently at Heritage Key, for a number of weird and wonderful stories: Did you know, for example, that early man had sex with Neanderthals? Ever heard about Peter McAllister's invention of Manthropology? Or that our hatred of undervaluation of Brussels sprouts is actually an evolutionary mystery? Or, even, that we lived alongside prehistoric hobbits (no, really)?

Anyway, if you have something to add to the song - or my knowledge of anthropology! -  please do. "The chords are super simple: Am, C, G, D. Feel free to learn it, play it, reappropriate it, share it, and add your own verses!" says Cooper. "And hey, if anyone wants to put up a video response of any anthros or students singing (or dancing to) any part of the song, (or singing any new verses), or anything else creative that you think might work, I was thinking about putting them together in a future collaborative music video project. That'd be wicked.

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About The Author

Ann Wuyts

Ann 'Vint' Wuyts is looking after the Heritage Key community and avatar health & entertainment. She is slightly fascinated by everything to do with 3D technology and what's commonly defined as 'Web 2.0'. When she grows up, Ann - eventually - wants to be a mummy.
Favourite game: Buzzword Bingo / Favourite book: 56 different ways to draw Mummies / Favourite toy: her DSLR / Worst fears: MySpace & Google data-world-domination / Favourite website: Heritage Key & Flickr.

Last three pieces by this author: Ancient Egyptian Artefact, Returned by Met Museum, to be Reunited with Statue at Karnak, Restoring The Avenue of Sphinxes and Protecting it for the Future, Remake of Epic 'Clash of the Titans' will be in 3D

Interesting Articles And Blog Posts

Interesting Publications

Manthropology

Hachette Australia (Aug 2009)

by Peter McAllister

The Anthropology of War

Cambridge University Press (27 Jul 1990)

by Jonathan Haas