How An Ancient Ocean Shaped US History

Learn more about Human Footprint: www.pbs.org/show/human-footprint
From ancient seas to fertile soils, evolutionary biologist Shane Campbell-Staton explores the remarkable journey that transformed the Cretaceous coastline into the fertile “Black Belt” region of the American South. He joins oceanographer Craig McClain, professor Sven Beckert, and geneticist Steven Micheletti to learn how millions of years of deposits shaped the events of Black American history.
Human Footprint explores the impact of humans on the planet. Join Shane as he travels from farms to restaurants, from high-tech labs to street markets, and from forests to cities to uncover the consequences of our unique human history. Are you ready to explore our past, present, and future as a species?
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[@brendalong3852]

This information should be taught in all US schools. Thank you for researching and airing it.

[@hazbaska1]

Yeah, I didn’t learn this till college

[@Theoryofcatsndogs]

One word, GOP. Don't get me wrong, in the not-very-distant past, Democrats were the "bad" guy. But in today's extreme political climate, telling truth become a sin, guess who to blame?

[@corynardin]

I’m pretty sure this video is banned in Florida.

[@masterofnonetech]

It's critical race theory...

[@brendalong3852]

@@masterofnonetech This is history.

[@xela552]

This episode was deeper than I was ready for

[@AderuMoro]

Right? I was just ready for a geology lesson. Glad we got more ❤

[@jbennett3578]

That's a great way of putting it.

[@RobertSaxy]

Same here

[@davidhollenshead4892]

Not me.. I've had while people tell me that I'm racist for saying that Mr. Slave Master, Plantation Owner, Plantation Owner's Teenage Son... kzbin.info/www/bejne/bXfQf4unYsmhjJIsi=Nv2wGath-BjXN2H2&t=583 Because White People were Rapy...

[@nutrientdensepermaculture9391]

100%

[@EricHunt]

Growing up in the 80s in Alabama we were taught about the Black Belt and that it was an ancient coastline but none of the socio-economic and demographic connections and correlations were ever mentioned. This video really should be taught in every school in the USA today.

[@EinsteinsHair]

I've also heard of black earth in the central U.S., probably from the same inland sea, making it the "bread basket." Also, that there is a similar region in Ukraine, which is why the colors of its flag represent a blue sky over fields of golden grain.

[@TheChunkyluver53]

Because those are two different subjects that just overlap slightly

[@AllTheHappySquirrels]

This is the interdisciplinary story that explains why we need to teach social sciences _and_ STEM.

[@tonyrainbolt9388]

I totally agree. And music classes, too! This video was surprising and amazing. Thanks PBS (I donate to PBS monthly - everyone else should, too.)

[@rachaelmurray8051]

Yes!

[@a-complished4406]

As a teacher here in the south I tell you, they don’t want to hear about this. Pundits are going to school board meetings, yelling and screaming to avoid facts to be taught.

[@erinmcdonald7781]

Truth! I've taught in a collaborative curriculum environment. It seemed to help things click for students. It's too bad that model isn't more prevalent.

[@michaellarson938]

Not much social science here. If it were there would be discussions slave traders world wide and not just the small part that was the African s selling to the European powers

[@BAD46660]

Another reason to love geology. It is not just the past ❤

[@ntl5983]

And genealogy too..

[@frankly8087]

Geography. More specifically, Geographic Information Science (GIS). The maps that showed the relationships between all of those histories and data (geology, geography, history, politics, etc.) is GIS.

[@teru797]

there was hardly any geology in this episode

[@blahco4tt]

​@@teru797The geology 100% explained the populations that are currently there. This was an interdisciplinary education that showed how various aspects from the past affect the present.

[@anniekirts6621]

@@teru797 YES! Where was the Geology? All I heard was cotton, cotton, cotton. Political hack job. I hope people see this for what it is. The rocks & soil don’t care what color anyone’s skin is.

[@qarljohnson4971]

This is exactly the type of show I look for from PBS Terra. How ancient Earth/Terran processes impact our past, present & futures. Thank you!

[@ImpendingJoker]

Yeah full of woke virtue signaling. Way to go.

[@NuisanceMan]

@@ImpendingJoker Yeah, how dare anyone pop your racist little ideological bubble!

[@MossyMozart]

@@ImpendingJoker - It sounds like you need a huge alarm clock to shake you into reality.

[@Jay-gf8tm]

​@@NuisanceManhow it's not racist if it's true.

[@daveretiredbkk4701]

​@@NuisanceMan This video is racist and omits many important facts about the thousands of Black and Native American slave owners - they owned over 22,000 African slaves

[@StephenLewisful]

"I welcome diversity in my genome, I just don't like how it got there." This part of the video with the 23nMe guy was impactful. Everyone should understand what this science is uncovering.

[@TurquoiseInk]

I appreciate how respectful they were of each other.

[@Watch-0w1]

We all have little of each other. I remember they say 50 percent of population are descendent of Genghis Khan

[@StephenLewisful]

@@Watch-0w1 I like this way of thinking. I say it this way; We are all one and the same with slight variations on the theme. This way I'm a citizen of the globe rather than just a US citizen. It destroys any sense of racism or culturally biased hate. I've had to rewrite my thoughts because I grew up in the South but I think I'm a better person now because of that struggle. Even though I probably have some of that Genghis Khan in me.🤠

[@ajchapeliere]

Knowing in the abstract sense that your ancestors did some messed up stuff is one thing. Having that abstract turned into a visible reality, being shown the genetic receipts? That hits differently.

[@elizabethburk7273]

​@@ajchapeliere well said. My thoughts exactly, but better articulated.

[@jbennett3578]

I love learning about these kinds of connections. "It's the same band over and over again." That's when the video went from interesting to fascinating for me. We know that old geology affects the modern world, but this was a particularly striking example.

[@mkhanman12345]

I like to learn and will learn.

[@lasciviousembrace]

title does not accurately describe what this video is about

[@t.c.pthecompletepackagellc21]

Totally agree, doesn’t even scratch the surface

[@deemingo8951]

I heard John and Maria eat meat everyday

[@dorie991]

Not only are these facts phenomenal, but you who studied it and put it together for us to watch are the real phenomenon to be proud of! Thank you!

[@mkhanman12345]

How come you dudes don’t discuss the topic?

[@daveretiredbkk4701]

This video is garbage trash that omits so many facts. Black Americans owned 10,000 African Slaves. Native Americans owned 12,000 slaves. White Irish Slaves lived and married African slaves.

[@reggiesj4918]

That final link was jaw dropping...absolutely brilliantly made! Thank you for posting!

[@daveretiredbkk4701]

Except they omitted so many facts. Black Americans owned 10,000 African Slaves. Native Americans owned 12,000 slaves. White Irish Slaves lived and married African slaves.

[@Virtuous_Rogue]

Thank you for this. I saw this on Google Earth several years ago and never found a satisfying explanation of it. I figured out from other geography videos that it was a coastline but the in depth explanation of the thing was elusive and I never even knew what to call it.

[@rubyrodstewart]

Maaan, crossing from natural history into people's history. Brilliant and right on time. This is amazing. Thank you!

[@rubyrodstewart]

W.EB Du Bois and Karl Marx are applauding in their graves 👏🏿✊🏿

[@Rikki-Tikki-Tavi]

If Americans aren't learning this in highschool then that's a crying shame.

[@lmost]

You can thank the rightist conservatives for that shame.

[@luciferblack3166]

Geology is taught in high school.

[@davidhollenshead4892]

I've had while people tell me that I'm racist for saying that Mr. Slave Master, Mr. Plantation Owner, Mr. Plantation Owner's Teenage Son... kzbin.info/www/bejne/bXfQf4unYsmhjJIsi=Nv2wGath-BjXN2H2&t=583 Because White People were Rapy...

[@Rikki-Tikki-Tavi]

@@luciferblack3166 🤨

[@xianvox22]

​@@JustJoe326there is no extreme left in this country. Our furthest left of barely left of center on the political spectrum. Suggesting there's somehow parity is not only a false equivalency, it's a bad faith argument. Centrism is, at best, naivety. And at worst, apathy. A position of ignorance or unconcern. People deserve better than mid humans asking them to compromise on liberty and progress.

[@jbennett3578]

Besides the core subject of the video being interesting, this is also a great example of the power of modern data visualization tools. Those tools make it easier to discover patterns.

[@katherinecooper8694]

Excelent presentation 😁 Shane's voice is so smooth and engaging

[@jamesglosangeles]

A simple like isn't enough to say how much I enjoyed this episode. Good stuff

[@EmilyJelassi]

Fascinating video!! This is something that should be taught in every schools!😊

[@matthew3136]

truth is too controversial today. The fairy tales of the bibles have caused to much stupidity that many people don't want to know the truth anymore.

[@GoodThings4GoodPeople]

The amount of history, specifically human history that is hidden due to water levels is mind-blowing. Annnnddd then this episode takes a totally different direction than expected 😮

[@jbennett3578]

For one example, there's probably a lot of evidence of the migration of humans from Asia to North America lost just off the coast.

[@GoodThings4GoodPeople]

​@@jbennett3578 oh most certainly or any other ancient settlement on the "coast" is now covered by water/mud/sediment

[@PollyHistor]

Certainly explains all the marine fossils found in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, etc.

[@dwaynejordan5898]

and lost migration data under the sahara@@jbennett3578

[@RobertSaxy]

Anyone else needed a moment to gather themselves after this one? What an amazing episode. I feel this one could have been at least twice in length with how deep and layered the subject matter turned out to be. I especially loved the allowance to sit with those uncomfortable moments in the conversations without blame or judgment

[@bjdefilippo447]

Well said. Difficult material was handled with respect, and not shied away from.

[@laughingoutloud5742]

Agreed. If we don't learn from our past mistakes, we're doomed. It's shitty that we have to have these types of conversations but so necessary for us to learn and grow together. More videos like this please, and job well done! ❤👏👏👏

[@daveretiredbkk4701]

They could not go deeper because then people would see this video omitted so many facts - There were Millions of White Irish and Scottish slaves. Many White slaves lived and married African slaves. He was an idiot and not scientific to assume it was rape

[@davidcashin1894]

It is fascinating to see the power of interconnecting sciences, geology, biology, anthropology through data analysis. These perspectives do give us insight, positive and negative, into ourselves and we should keep looking and trying to be better.

[@veronicaroach3667]

And if they taught those sciences this way in schools kids would start to recognize the importance of what those subjects were all about !

[@blazethealaskanmalamute4633]

This is how history & geology should be taught in schools! Absolutely loved this episode! Definitely could be longer ❤

[@jamesdeininger3759]

This is the best thing I’ve seen from PBS in a while. Great episode. I didn’t know this channel existed. You guys should really cross-advertise with the other channels more often. SpaceTime, Eons, and Smart did an awesome collab a few years back.

[@CZPanthyr]

That was completely fascinating.

[@daveretiredbkk4701]

But not factual, There were Millions of White Irish and Scottish slaves in many countries. Many White slaves lived and married African slaves. He was an idiot and not scientific to assume it was rape

[@jrdahlst56]

I'd heard a bit about this before, thanks for going into detail. I wonder if something similar could be done with oil and coal deposits

[@PollyHistor]

Absolutely. Explains a lot of insights into the concentration of vast wealth into specific companies/individuals, along with their campaign contributions.

[@xristobalramirezromero3469]

I felt so many emotions throughout this dude, amazing job

[@JesseArt]

This is a phenomenal video showcasing just how interconnected so many things truly are. The data on the voting maps is not only mind-blowing, but it is also just incredibly important information for the public to be aware of when it comes to discriminatory practices like gerrymandered districts that were specifically drawn to favor certain demographics over others. You guys could have totally tied in the recent Alabama battle over redistricting in which "Allen v. Milligan, the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) upheld Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) and ruled that Alabama’s 2021 congressional map illegally diluted the voting power of Black Alabamians." It's truly amazing how all of the sciences - biology, geology, geography, etc. - impact us in ways we never imagined. For anyone interested in the fight for more equal representation of Black Alabamians, the League of Women Voters has a pretty good break down that I'll link below. Living in Wisconsin as we fight against our own gerrymandering, I think it's super awesome to see state legislatures being held accountable for their blatant attempts to disenfranchise their citizens. "What’s Happening with Alabama’s Redistricting Post-Milligan?" - League of Women Voters www.lwv.org/blog/whats-happening-alabamas-redistricting-post-milligan

[@00700556]

This episode was WAAAAAAY deeper than what the headline gave off. I needed MORE of this topic of DNA and historical graphs

[@iriandia]

Interesting how the choices we (or our ancestors) make determine so much. The fact that this ancient coastline produced a perfect environment for growing cotton is one thing. What humans did with that environment is really sad. They could have farmed that cotton in other ways and still created cotton t-shirts for us all. We still could create cotton t-shirts in ways that don't exploit people (this time in other places). Why do we make the choices to use what our planet has built for us, in ways that are so destructive and damaging to so many of us? Profit for a few is not a good enough excuse anymore, if it ever was.

[@PollyHistor]

These datasets really should be used for the benefit of the species as a whole. We have the knowledge and the means that no individual should need ever go without food, water, shelter, clothing, and healthcare.

[@_exolite]

Your work is incredible, thank you. This is such important history to be known.

[@cynthiafisher3392]

This was amazing! I have learned more in the last 20 minutes than I have in the last 20 years.

[@kylorobb]

Dude, That's either sad or hyperbolic flattery. I mean KZbin's been around for more than a decade, and Ken Burns more than 20yrs.

[@daveretiredbkk4701]

A lot of VIP info was left out to fit their racist narrative. There were Millions of White Irish and Scottish slaves in many countries. Many White slaves lived and married African slaves. He was an idiot and not scientific to assume it was rape

[@robertearhart4316]

That was an amazing perspective into pre-history, US history, and current events! Thank you!

[@ldean2731]

This is crazy...literally deeper than I've ever known

[@toughenupfluffy7294]

That was amazing! I've seen how geology can influence and impact people, but this is on an entirely new level! Well done!

[@Kiraiko44]

I grew up on this ancient shoreline and I remember learning about this and it made total sense when I looked at how flat the terrain was south but there was like a line where the hills and mountains started in the middle of the state (Alabama) I grew up in an area with a huge limestone deposit that was known for having a lot of fossils in it from the prehistoric ocean. The effects it's had on human history is another very important layer to be aware of

[@lunathemadman]

Damn. That was a crazy watch. I know geologic happenings can affect cultures and such. But it's usually mountains and rivers. Getting to blame ancient zooplankton for all sorts of horrid things would be a grossly reduced meme, but it's still crazy to think about. I could go on but I need to sit with this more. My world view has shifted a bit.

[@xianvox22]

Ancient zooplankton isn't too blame, even the video addressed that. People are. The zooplankton just set a stage that horrible people chose to exploit.

[@lunathemadman]

@@xianvox22 I'm aware.

[@luciferblack3166]

​@@xianvox22and the Sun, plate tectonics, the guy who made a boat, the bronze age, iron age, when it rained that one time. Pseudo science, political propaganda masked as some enlightened thought. Eugenics will be making a come back I guess

[@cynvision]

I think we have to add highway development to the mix. I don't think the democrats in central SC have as much influence on the local level and along highway 26 through Columbia the boots on the ground making the choices are Christian white Republicans from the upstate.

[@MrMarkAMartin]

Wonderful, and educational on so many levels! I had never tied the Haitian revolution and cotton in the USA before, I always thought the French just produced sugar seeing it's far more profitable to grow and refine on site. I would like to learn more about this in particular,

[@sophiejones3554]

Early on, it *was* mostly sugar as the demand for cotton was not super high. But, in the mid 18th Century, the spinning jenny and mechanical loom were invented. Now, French aristocrats had been wearing a curious stiff and yet soft cotton fabric called DeNîmes after the city in Southern France where it was developed since the Middle Ages. Usually, dyed with the ultra-expensive import from India, indigo. Although highly practical, this was a luxury fabric due to the labor intensive production: the tight jacquard weave requires a skilled weaver and many hours. But with the invention of the mechanical loom, suddenly "denim" as it was known in English could be produced as easily as wool. Meanwhile, indigo was being grown in South Carolina: as a result of slave expertise and labor. Full denim suits and dresses became a trend, so French plantations switched to cotton. This is all a half century before Levi Strauss btw.

[@MrMarkAMartin]

@@sophiejones3554 So am I correct, they produced sugar not cotton at the time of the revolution?

[@sophiejones3554]

@@MrMarkAMartin no. At the time of the revolution, in the last decade of the 18th Century, most plantations in Haiti produced cotton.

[@nebulan]

West Virginia's history and economy goes back even more millions of years to a bajillion dead trees. So i can relate a little (tho affecting Appalachia culture isn't as huge as African-American culture)

[@luciferblack3166]

Well that wouldn't be about how geology and white supremacy go hand and hand.

[@nemanjaivanovic5973]

I am as astonished with this information as the presenter is. The ability to trace ancient limestone deposits through maps of political outcomes is such a profound illustration of the inequities and injustices of American history.

[@BabylonPuce]

This truly blew my mind.

[@KWMc1952]

This was one of the more interesting videos on YT. I've lived in the south all my life and didn't know this.

[@nekkidnora]

That black belt is truly stunning. It's insane how lasting an effect that's had on literally all of the history of your country. I have to wonder what similarly seemingly minor landscape features have affected every other place on earth, it's mind-boggling.

[@taylornoel]

Wow… the section with the maps was so deeply fascinating

[@mrfriendlolo4971]

This is so interesting and like someone else said in these comments, a lot deeper than I thought it would be. As someone from Atlanta, it now makes sense how the Piedmont feels different compared to the rest of the South.

[@ol_smokey9370]

That was not where I expected to end up. Very interesting.

[@mascadadelpantion8018]

Why this is not taught in high schools across america I will never know

[@Theoryofcatsndogs]

one word GOP

[@Beryllahawk]

@@Theoryofcatsndogs worse than that; the complicity between most all parties to keep down the ugly parts of the past, to "just don't ask," to say "no, we did them a favor" so that those folks whose grandfathers actually DID these horrible things...they don't want to feel bad about it, they don't want to think about it, they certainly don't want to be called out on it. Therefore: they arranged for everyone to forget. Or they tried. It hurts me that my own ancestors probably contributed to this pain. I'm just an average white lady, none of my own bloodlines are from the South, but at the same time...even people in Ohio had some part in the slave trade, if nothing else by buying the cotton. It's not really any better if you look at the German part of my ancestry either. Difficult to face, and uncomfortable: I can see why the Powers that Be (and have been) would want this swept under the rug. I hope like hell that all that "blue wave" keeps pushing, until they flood out all the red, everywhere.

[@xianvox22]

​@@Joe-sg9llgrievances over policy

[@luciferblack3166]

Geology is taught in high school, or do you mean with a side of political nonsense.

[@xianvox22]

​@@luciferblack3166the only political nonsense here is your comment.

[@ds5015]

Very very fascinating. I grew up in this area and never had any idea! Especially the part about how it connects to modern politics. One of the most intriguing episodes yet. Very well done!

[@danielmaxwell6676]

I live in north Florida, grew up in south Georgia. I had a litle bit of an idea about this. Love the detail of this episode.

[@kristenlee3178]

I lived in Alabama briefly, near the Talladega Nat’l Forest, and I’ve found fossilized shells along the summits. It never ceases to amaze me to imagine a world where places like that were underwater at one point in time.

[@Jablicek]

Aside from the sun, everything you see is the product of supernovae fusing hydrogen into heavier elements. We're all made of the same stuff; we all share common ancestry; we're all family.

[@bobnomura2068]

This was absolutely astounding how those folks figured out this stuff !

[@andiwaters1888]

This almost brought me to tears and I was not ready for it. We need a heads up when we are about to have our science hurt us. Wonderful episode. More like this.

[@sirridesalot6652]

It is fascinating how geology can be the basis for so many human endeavours whether bad or good.

[@eba44]

Isn't it amazing how we humans seek patters as we do? Like the fella said. Hard to wrap my head around it. Glad he came back at the end to clarify what the geology fella said. Just because the ground was fertil did not mean there had to be slavery. Also, too, I'm having a hard time figuring out what to do with this information. It's a story that says that people will go and thrive where mum nature has gifted us good soil. How was that fine earth made, then what some people chose to do with it. I wonder if one could, what the Indian spread on the map would look like. So interesting. Good and valuable (value- wealth- power) land is always political at the end of the day.

[@xianvox22]

The video pointed out, albeit briefly, that wealthy white plantation owners had the political power to both push for laws that permitted slavery as well as displaced indigenous peoples to get access to their fertile lands. These were the same guys who were raping enslaved woman en masse, and enslaving, exploiting and selling their own children for profit. The moral is the story is that most of the evil in this world is driven by greed and power.

[@azilbean]

Wow! That was deeper (no pun intended) than I expected. I knew about all of these pieces, but I had never put it together like that. (Liberal Southerner, here).

[@ProfessorTravis]

I've touched on this type of topic in my geology 101 classes. The northwestern portion of Arkansas is mountainous and hardly had any slavery. The people that lived in these areas rarely supported secession prior to the civil war. They saw it as, "a rich man's war". I'm going to do a little more than touch on it now with this video. Thanks for producing it.

[@CounterFleche]

A profoundly moving and profoundly interesting segment.

[@brendanmeckler7761]

Acharya Blackwell and Sen wrote a political book on this called Deep Roots that's phenomenal and also has some nice graphics

[@dianewallace6064]

Thank you for this content.

[@robertcoplin2830]

Thank you for providing this segment. Absolutely fascinating and enlightening. Through education I knew that Earth's history has impacted human history but to have it so powerfully demonstrated is important of us all.

[@jamesgilbreath7763]

Incredibly well done! As an Alabama resident, I've noticed this confluence before, but I haven't seen all of these things articulated and put together so well. Yes, these are all things that should be studied and discussed in schools.

[@ponyote]

This was very eye opening. Thank you.

[@AnonymousFreakYT]

9:55 - It really seemed like the 23andMe guy was doing his best to tap-dance around the issue. Then he just "to be blunt"ed it. Good on him for telling the actual truth, not continuing to use euphemisms and couching in faux "it was good actually".

[@mcv2178]

I thought he was not dancing around it, he was trying to say it without saying the harsh words, just pausing to make sure folks got it.... then he decided that was not certain enough and went for it. Just my impression.

[@MyFiddlePlayer]

If you think about it further, probably all of us are the product of a rape somewhere along the line. You just have to go back far enough. It's awkward for him because he is talking on camera, and (with the research he's done) he probably knows the names of the people involved.

[@stefthorman8548]

theirs no reason for him to avoid the issue, blacks were the ones who captured and sold each other for the slave trade, they should blame Africans for it.

[@PollyHistor]

@@mcv2178 Yes, that was my take on it also.

[@guest6423]

It took a lot of guts to make that statement publicly, and I applaud him for that.I'm not a fan of 23andme, though. Their sharing of our genetics is troubling.

[@Robert_Byland]

What an eye-opener! This is gonna stick with me.

[@gregorynuttall]

Great episode. Thanks to the production team

[@1Nynja]

Great episode! I was hooked from start to finish. Thank you!

[@No.Handle.Please.]

Mind blowing! Thank you.

[@b1oh1]

Great video! I only ever ask people don't partner with DNA/genetic firms that give away our DNA/data freely. 23andme has sold about 75% of their customers DNA to law enforcement as well as other private organizations. They never notified their users because their Eula/tos allows them to do whatever they want with your DNA.

[@kaelhooten8468]

I live in an area outside of Detroit that has this, but opposite. An area of poor sand soils that became two black towns, amidst white farming communities with normal fertile soils. A sand lens in a low area that became a black town.

[@francissulton7258]

Phenomenal presentation!!

[@damiensadventure]

This was REALLY good! I look forward to more videos like this!

[@A_Amazi]

Omg, I love how you introduced Craig. I can tell this is going to be good.

[@austinmitchell2652]

That was a really incredible video!! Thanks to everyone involved for all your hard work 🙏

[@MichaelDeHaven]

The series of graphs at the end was so incredible. We have to learn from our past to do better for all of us and our children.

[@FreeManFreeThought]

"The places we live, and even the soil under our feet, make a certain set of histories possible; but they don't make any one history inevitable" Powerful words from Shane Campbell-Staton.

[@tw8464]

Great work on this video from geology to genetics to history, etc. fascinating. keep up the great work

[@ChicoBranquinho]

Amazing video of how geology affects us, no matter where you live.

[@jasonksepka7439]

A disturbingly interesting episode. Thank you so much for such a deep dive into our southeast.

[@kimopuppy]

Great stuff, thanks

[@shaunhall6834]

Sobering. Thanks for this video.

[@user-dj6hu9gq4t]

Bravo! For the algorithm, this should be common knowledge.

[@O_U_No_It_2]

Fascinating. That truly blew my mind how interconnected the world can be. In this case though, our shameful history shouldn't have occurred the way it did.

[@arthurfoyt6727]

No, it was shameful for Spain, England and France, There WAS NO UNITED STATES when this started and the UNITED STATES was one of the first countries that put a stop to it. Be proud of that.

[@michaelpettinger207]

Mind-boggling, moving, amazing. Thank you.

[@electra424]

Incredible, thank you

[@jonludovico8215]

That band is also called the I-95 line or the water fall line, because many rivers have water falls when they hit this rock change. This made ideal locals to set up cities where cargo had to be off loaded from barges, explaining why a major high way connects the points. The cities may be an additional reason for the demographic and politic map.

[@stay_curious_BATS]

Amazing! I live in NE MS. On 45 near Booneville, there’s a river set up for the public to search for Cretaceous fossils in the riverbed. This story ties that river into a greater story of the region, and the waters that drowned this area in ocean and the slavery that drowned people’s rights go together. Amazing work.

[@KissyKat]

Very interesting!

[@Scorpiove]

This episode was great. My mind is blown. Very fascinating, and sad.

[@ArcticonComp]

This was an immensely poignant take on the traumatic foundational flaw of the U.S. experiment! As a longtime student of U.S. history and an economic historian I want to thank PBS Terra team for making it. Just stunning!

[@EmbraceTheJourney]

Never had I thought any of this. An amazing video with incredible insight

[@marksneddon-7zero]

@15:21 Beautifully put.

[@alecmcgrathofcanada9175]

No kidding. What amazingly astute sentence. It's perfect.

[@WilhelmDrake]

History is shape by geography.

[@LDFHollister]

This . Was. Fascinating. Fantastic format, more please!

[@douglasboyle6544]

I was wondering why this episode was meandering all around between geology and genetics but it was absolutely worth the journey when it was all tied up in the end. Great work!

[@eoachan9304]

This should have been two different videos to cover the two distinct topics more comprehensively.

[@vinceveltri7732]

Very "eye-opening" Thank you.

[@mikehartman5326]

I loved the statistical analysis that reveals concrete data that can be observed.

[@seppdecker]

I had seen the link between geology and the Black Belt reported, but the piece you crafted here is so much deeper in detail and thought. Thank you for creating something I can share with my students.

[@renderererer3572]

Sorry, but I don't quite understand what the big revelation here was (except maybe the part about having European ancestry and the associated atrocities). Also, isn't the connection between the geology, cotton, slavery and voting demographics pretty obvious? (provided you are sufficiently aware of the corresponding history) Of course, it's very cool that they've done the studies to confirm this but the logic feels a bit too straightforward. Maybe the idea of geology affecting human civilization is not widely known? (but the presenter also seems so baffled by it, and he's an Evolutionary Biologist, which I don't understand). Also, you can pretty much connect any historical event to most others preceding it, though the length of the links and strength of the connections may vary. Apologies if this sounds rude in any way. It's not my intention.

[@MichaelDeHaven]

Lots of times what seems obvious to some isn't to others. Then there is the issue of presenting it in a way that tells a good story. We remember things better when presented this way. Not saying he lied, per se, but that could be part of what occurred with the evolutionary biologist. Allowing us to go on the journey with them. Either way it's good to get the information out there. I personally didn't know about the high level of correlation shown in the graphs at the end. Then again I never much enjoyed history in my youth. So I'm rather ignorant of it. Something I'm now trying to change.

[@renderererer3572]

@@MichaelDeHaven Thanks, I guess that's a valid argument. It just seemed like the acting/storytelling was a bit over the top, at least to me.

[@saywhat8966]

Isn’t everyone taught that cities develop where there is water from rivers and oceans? That’s geology.

[@whatabouttheearth]

If you are watching PopSci videos for deep scientific revelation you are lost.

[@whatabouttheearth]

If you are watching PopSci videos for deep scientific revelation you are lost

[@oenhammonds3739]

Mind blowing 😮

[@shameonyou1681]

This video is truly so amazing. The way it incorporates so many different things together. I started university around 10 years ago and I've seen this shift in the way people discuss science now. A lot more focused on practical and human issues (which you'd think is the point but I'm not gonna get into that rn). Seeing those different versions of the same map is truly sooooooo compelling but also so heartbreaking. It must've been a tough one to film but I'm really glad this was made! I cannot wait to see what else yall do ❤

[@daveretiredbkk4701]

This video is just a pack of lies and omitted facts that didn't fit their narrative. There were millions of White Irish Slaves that lived with and married African slaves - only an idiot would assume his ancestors were involved in rape without any data

[@IndridCool54]

One of my favorite series was Connections with James Burke decades ago. You are continuing this tradition and I thank you.