Steven Universe Theory - Cultural Impact of the Gems

[@pickles3128]

DISCOVERY: Dhawar is the name of a diamond and kimberlite cluster located in India. It's on the second page of Google results.

[@eonstar]

o.O....

[@peepaloons9073]

Wow +AJ Universe you You got to see this

[@gailburnette]

That's interesting!

[@xkxn1039]

AND IT HAS PINK DIAMONDS ON THE THINGIE OMG

[@bodeeangus9957]

Pink diamonds gem shards maybe??

[@daisyoverton204]

Canada's flag is green in the show instead of red

[@ssgoko88]

Clearly peridot has already been to earth... she conquered canada, forced them to change their flag, and plunged the earth into chaos... causing rose to rebel with the help of the diamonds... all other theories go home i think i solved it all here

[@ssgoko88]

Liran Piade let's not go fucking crazy here

[@oncengenes]

Wait in Jail Break she landed in Canada :O

[@screamingpopsicles4260]

+ThatCulturalGeek holy shit o-o

[@iliterallycantdeal6122]

Why do I see you everywhere

[@fatcoyote2]

I think humans have a genetic" blind spot" as regarding Gems. Ronaldo talks about the "sneople," even though he lives around them. His brother has to point out their influence, even though they would be the most important part of any of his conspiracies. The pizza girl literally helped the Gems fight a Gemmonster, but still finds Steven's talk about Gem culture mind-blowing. The influence of Gems is everywhere, yet humans simultaneously acknowledge it, and then find Gem related actions shocking. It's a weird double-think.

[@HaloInverse]

I suggested something very similar in a comment on a previous video. Primitive SU-humans would have encountered beings which were vastly physically superior, who took on fixed physical forms only out of convenience and habit, were apparently immortal, had technology too powerful to even be adequately described as "magic", and (until the rebellion) regarded humans as utterly inconsequential. TL;DR: Gems are Lovecraftian Elder Gods, and early humans who didn't "poke Cthulhu" would be more likely to survive to have descendants.

[@fatcoyote2]

+HaloInverse Like when Sadie and Lars witnessed Pearl fighting Sugulite. They should've been quivering messes, but after the initial shock was over, went back to work at the donut shop. I have PTSD. Stuff like combat sticks with you. Giant, multi-armed hellspawn would wreck your shit for months, if not permanently. Steven got his psyche rocked by combat with other Gems, something he should nominally be mentally prepared for, yet the people of Beach City have their lives interfered with constantly, then they get over it, almost forgetting about it. Then there's Vidalia and her kin...

[@tipoima]

Greg and Connie have no problem with understanding gems

[@HaloInverse]

+tipoima ...I thought the point being made was not one of "understanding", but of "collectively turning a blind eye". But, yeah, good counterexamples anyways. Greg did pursue a romantic relationship with Rose, and appears to display an almost-sensible amount of panic and fear when stuff starts exploding. Connie is actively curious about Gems, despite her (or because of?) her super-conservative parents. And, as Jason mentioned, Vidalia is pretty cool with Amethyst - though her husband might have helped her acclimatize to "unusual", if she wasn't unusual already. If there's a genetic tendency for humans to ignore Gem stuff, what are the odds that so many outliers would live in the same small town? ...but there must be some reason why at least the dormant Gem sites on Earth haven't been swarmed by researchers, seeking to advance human technology. In our world, in this era, humans get freakin' everywhere, especially if there's Weird Stuff - first researchers, then _tourists_. _Something_ must have diverged in humanity's large-scale response to the unknown, unless the Gem sites are all both inaccessible by human land/sea/air travel _and_ completely invisible from the outside.

[@tipoima]

I think it more of a religious influence. There are probably legend about gems, and trying to study their technology is the same as trying to burgle a church

[@crazyinvaderfangirl1]

I think its likely that Steven is bilingual, Gems have their own language that is not english, (as evidenced by the symbols in sky spire) the Crystal Gems learned english later on because of the humans, and that this is the reason that Lapis Lazuli and Peridot have not directly spoken with humans yet, and that Peridot has trouble spelling, (replacing As with Rs as seen in log date 7152) as she is still learning. The audience just hears it all as english because its easier.

[@darugosuenyo]

Roman Mythology had to still play a significant part in Steven's World, considering they re-directed the Rubies there.

[@decemberhead2106]

NEPTUNE THATS RIGHT O SHEET

[@margmarg7032]

Oh yeah I hardly noticed that.

[@SaryTheWolf]

Our Neptune is a sea god with a trident and a beard. Maybe in Steven's Worlds Neptune is sea goddess with wings made of water.

[@jbark678]

And that means the Greek that it came from may also exist

[@tasharosselli6270]

good point

[@sagethesage3625]

dhawar airlines - 4 pink diamonds dhawar dha war da war the war - pink diamond

[@grapesoda408]

oh

[@depressedtoad5424]

Ten ~ Jontron

[@tokenstraightguy]

*clap clap*

[@kst82792]

Mindblown

[@yoyoyaso4130]

mmmmm intresting very very intresting

[@Portergauge]

Actually, my theory is that Dhawar is Steven's version of India, or rather, the island part we see on the map. Dhawar is a province in our world's middle India, and the fact that the airplane is in Americs, combined with the fact that Connie is Indian in heritage, may explain why Connie is not in the last few episodes: she may be in their version of India, visiting family.

[@Michaela_ZC]

Connie hasn't been it the last few episodes because the gems have been working on a drill to save the earth and Connie doesn't want to interfere.

[@doctora.snakeman1427]

+Kieran Chiddix read what +Sarah DeAngelis said

[@jeremelric]

This is potentially significant. India could be a global superpower for all we know. For now, Steven is pretty uneducated and so... outside the realm of Earth politics and the gems deal with issues completely unrelated to human earth struggles that we don't really have a lot to go on (for now) as far as the geopolitical landscape of the planet. While I don't believe Connie hasn't been around because she was in India, it's not necessarily a big stretch to assume an Indian airline is a popular global airline.

[@seafooddog687]

That is actually a good theory

[@darreljones8645]

I think we can assume Connie is elsewhere, as required by her father's job, in any episode where she doesn't appear.

[@lilyfelicity5358]

another interesting difference can be found in the episode love letters when connie says "i watched some episodes of a taured soap opera once so I'm confident I get the gist of romance" taured being a place that doesn't exist in our world (however there was an alleged interdimensional traveler in the 1950s who claimed to be from there)

[@icecatti]

As a born and raised Marylander, I get a strong sense of pride by watching Steven Universe. You can definitely tell that Sugar grew up in a lot of these areas - the show really nails an east coast beach vibe.

[@Ragnaracc]

I think the state delmarva might be the whole paninsala. in our world it was split up for religious reasons. in Stevens world of Christianity never existed the church never splits so delmarva became a whole state.

[@scorchinglizard]

That would make sense

[@Montisaquadeis]

Which might put Beach City right on its tip as well.

[@AdamB_29]

I hate to be picky. but it's peninsula. sorry. but good theory by the way

[@Ragnaracc]

Adam Beer im bad at spelling

[@AdamB_29]

Ok. Grammar and spelling annoys me. I don't know why

[@pixelatedblake4960]

One really interesting thing I noticed when you mentioned the totem pole it that the creature in the middle appears to be the temple fusion, even having roses shield, and the creature on top appears to be the giant bird from the temple in giant woman, suggesting that both of these figures had some effect on First Nations people in this reality. That's a really neat background detail!

[@arcamoo1610]

NICE FIND

[@sydneyeray]

whoa

[@sydneyeray]

also, the bottom figure looks like it has a gem nose! it doesn't really look like jasper, but it has face markings like she does, so maybe?

[@pixelatedblake4960]

+Sydney Ray whoa, I didn't even notice that! At first, since it's kind of green and has four arms I thought it might be malachite, but since there is an upcoming marathon titled "Jaspers' corruption", I think it might be foreshadowing either Jasper's corrupted form or possibly her fusion with a corrupted gem based on the features I described. That bottom totem is certainly the most interesting

[@pixelatedblake4960]

I also just noticed that the totem pole is in the keep box, so Greg might want to keep it because it reminds him of rose. Thought that was a sweet little detail

[@Alexanderantonin]

By the way, if you want a scifi series that explores physical differences between earths in different AUs, you should read a series called The Long Earth, by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter. It's not the main thrust of the series, but it crops up from time to time in fascinating ways.

[@Godzillawolf1]

One thing that comes to mind here: if Gemkind's existence is a known fact to the majority of humanity... That means humanity has NEVER had a reason to question 'are we alone' or wonder if alien life exists or not. Because aliens arriving on Earth is just something that happened. That has pretty huge cultural implications when you think about it.

[@ThePretzelNuggets]

I think it DelMarVa implies that all three states were at some point separate, then combined together or that just the DelMarVa Peninsula became its own state, separate from Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware. After all, there needs to be a Del Mar and Va for the area to be named after.

[@hallowacko]

OH! IMPORTANT! so corn exists in this universe, right? since it shows up in gem harvest? well, corn, as we know it and they in steven's universe knows it, was artificially selected by the native peoples of north and south america from a plant with much much much smaller cobs. tiny in fact. they bred and preserved the seeds from mutant large cobs until cobs were grown which were many times the size of the wild type, called teosinte so, north america and south america (where teosinte was native- AS WELL AS POTATOES! AND TOMATOES!) had to have natives, and i would keep an eye out for mexican food when its seen :) WHOOOO BIOLOGY DEGREE FOR THE WIN!

[@AJUniverse]

Good catch.

[@a_donut]

John Newman Just don't let it be on the cob.

[@laz4259]

I have a theory setup! Why do Homeworld gems speak Earth's English? Can they speak other languages? Do they even have their own language? It's probably just because the show writers wanted to keep it simple, though.

[@ElainaLycan]

I think their bodies automatically translate their language. Kinda like how their bodies adjust to any planetoid they are anchored to.

[@laz4259]

+Cyberus yeah that's possible

[@ElainaLycan]

Probably to be understood by their victims when they get slaughtered by the masses.

[@celestiarulerofeques]

Actually they do have their own form of writing. It's on some of the statues in the arenas.

[@ElainaLycan]

The hieroglyphics? Or actual writing? I've only noticed the hieroglyphs.

[@cerezabay]

In Soviet Russia, we drown.

[@atruv2089]

pff hahahahaha XD XD

[@dudeypierson5663]

Hahahahahahah

[@artema.]

This made my day XD

[@SenkouNoMahimeEne]

you, sir (or madame) are now my hero

[@danielabujaber7478]

9:13 In Crack the Whip, one dollar bills are shown as Connie and Steven pay for some donuts around 4:33 in the episode.

[@CapitaoAmerica737]

Well, the cyrillic alphabet (russian alphabet) does exist, it's was in the episode Gem Drill, at the drill itself. The cockpit of it was made from parts that a believe came from a russian military aircraft. Peridot pressed oneof them to activate the laser gun. The buttons read (in cyrillic): BL package, Icon, Rear, Front, Sides, and Scheme. I don't really know if the aircraft was military but the simplistic design of the panel reminds me of the military cockpits from the soviet era. If they are indeed military, it probably means that SU's Earth had a Cold War, but how would it be if half of Russia didn't exist? Maybe Russia took another form, had another territory other than what we know today. BTW, add the fact that uncle Andy appear to be a proud american, a feeling that in real life was most strong during the Cold war and the world bipolarization. Anyway, this is just a theory, a... nevermind.

[@CapitaoAmerica737]

Shit, I want so hard to enter Steven's world and study every freaking thing that I can.

[@UpupBinweevils]

Also, something that caught my eye when that episode with the plane first aired was that the diamonds were pink. And so was the color scheme. I got a strong Pink Diamond vibe from the plane.

[@bigdiglett3258]

lol i love it when he puts pearl clips while he's rambling on about something

[@johnlunz8710]

Isn't it likely that the cultural impact of the gems was stronger in places with more grm structures like in north america and Scandinavia, but there might be a smaller impact on mainland europe which is why greek/roman mythology remained somewhat intact (neptune)

[@ztslovebird]

Or maybe Delmarva is named such because the area that Steven calls Delmarva is the peninsula you referred to in our world. The United States may have different borders in addition to different names in Steven's world.

[@personalityexplosion3046]

As you can see from the massive amount of evidence on the show, Uzbekistan was hugely affected by the gems in geography and culture

[@MegaFrog98]

Due to Russia's nonexistence, European history must have gone very differently. One think I considered is that the 1848 Hungarian revolution would have ended victoriously (since Russia wasn't there to curb the rebellion) and Hungary would have seceded from the Habsburg Empire. This would have weakened Austria, and WW1 would have gone differently (since Austria was a major faction in our reality). I don't know how this would have affected further events, but according to Sugar, WW2 didn't happen in the SUverse.

[@margmarg7032]

A World without WWII sounds pretty nice.

[@agentwaffle4533]

+Marg Marg true dat

[@oscarenrique751]

+Marg Marg But the UN wouldn't have existed.

[@babel_UV]

according to crewniverse, the only war that happened on the earth is the great gem war

[@MoSteel2]

This show is so much more deeper than any show we've seen, it's amazing.

[@RandomYT05_01]

The massive hole in Siberia kinda has to have Gem implications. Afterall, there is a gem location directly in the center of it, so they must have done something to the region.

[@cardmasterinc2720]

Does Steven need oxygen? i mean i know Pearl said he does but when lapis took the ocean and made a tower we all saw how huge it was and steven made it all the way to the top on a single breath, so maybe if he does need oxygen maybe he just doesn't need much? its kinda weird and has a lot of weak points but i just thought of it on the spot XD

[@tipoima]

He probably needs it, but can hold without it for hours if he doesn't realize it.

[@DesertBloodRose457]

I believe that Steven is either able to absorb a lot of oxygen from the air and thus does not need to breath as much or as often, or simply his hybrid genetics make oxygen less of a necessity and he doesn't need that much

[@eonstar]

Different people can hold there breaths at different lengths. Also explain why he ended up freaking out in lions mane when he couldn't breath on the tiny island if it where true he didn't need air. Idk why I do this but whenever in television I see someone holding there breath I do the same (even if it's all of a sudden I will stop mid breath). And every time it has happened in Steven Universe I had held my breath with ease.... accept the time when he was in lions main.... that one was a bit hard :P.

[@tipoima]

eon star I don't do that all the time, but often. It's like "Is it possible to hold breath for that long? LET'S FIND OUT" About Lion's mane - When something that causes strong emotions (like finding a pocket divention inside your pet) you often lose your breath for a moment or make a deep breath etc Point is that made him realize there is no air.

[@eonstar]

tipoima I don't think so. He was mid thought when he realized he needed air. If what you say were true he would have went for air when he first saw it. Or at least any other point when he was amazed or intrigued but not mid thought.

[@jonathanrollins8987]

"Delaware" wasn't the name of the Native American tribe, though the Brits did call them that. They were the Lenape. "Delaware" comes from "Lord De la Warr", a British baron who was the governor of the Virginia colony. The Delaware Bay was named for him, with the river, tribe, and colony eventually also being designated with the same name by the colonists.

[@otakuyaoiness]

If one looks clearly they can notice cultural implications for the corrupted Gems. At 6:22 I noticed that the top part of the totem looked like the corrupted bird gem from season one episode Giant Woman, also note that the second totem is holding a shield and the bottom one that we can see is holding a crystal of some sort. Which suggest gem influences in these tribes as they know them. Also I noted that the gems that jasper took look like the lion dragons of China myths. This would suggest that this world has are worlds current myths because of the dymonds corruption.

[@Kewpiiie]

It is said that WWII didn't happen (most likely because Russia is missing) and I think that that is why Japanese culture is more prominent in the show.

[@thedistinguished5255]

germany started WWII tho if ur just kiddin the russia part WAS pretty funny

[@Iavasechui]

But WW1 and the devastation it had on germany's economy was part of the reason why ww2 happened, if Russia was not around during ww1 era it might not have happened or it ended differently and thus ww2 doesnt happen.

[@knightguard1724]

What if the gems stopped the nazis starting

[@hirokokueh3541]

because they are JEWelry. they must stop the Nazi GEMany.

[@monsterslurpee7212]

Maybe the reason Steven isn't in school is because humans don't know everything about the gems and fill in the gaps with random stuff so the gems don't want Steven to be confused and tell him the real history of gems instead of the school systems version of it

[@danielcervantes3652]

Pearl didn't know what School was...

[@gianagordon165]

I thought it was because they did not want him to go to kindergarten.

[@danielcervantes3652]

Lapis Lazuli _Thats horrible!_

[@margmarg7032]

Yes, in mirror gem it shows pearl not knowing anything about school.

[@eonstar]

There is a comic about Steven going to school. Pearl finds it unnecessary since Steven learns everything he needs at home. When he went to school he got an above perfect score on a test although he's only been going there for a few days. I think there are some other factors as well. He didn't really work well in the school system...

[@ssgoko88]

Its entirely possible that instead of migrating via the land bridge from Asia to North America, native people migrated using an island hoping technique to get from Africa to South America. That would explain why there are different names in NA regions while still having the tribes in the first place.

[@Bealzabub]

i love this video bc it implies that Ronaldo's Diamond Authority conspiracy theories are basically the equivalent of our world's Illuminati conspiracy theories.

[@dudeypierson5663]

You are honestly the most profiund (steven universe) theorizer out there. Your theories go so far beyond just picking out random things and explaining your opinions on them because you can actually tell that a large amount of thought and time was spent on each theory. Your work is really great 👍

[@gabrielernandes7213]

Hey, AJ Universe. I have a question that i never made and i can't ask rebbeca sugar since i'm not in the USA because i'm from Brazil and our economy here is junk (so i can't go to comic-con or whatever) Here Goes Nothing:"If everyone are alarmed of the existance of the Gems, why not the goverment and other major forces in our world team up with the gems? with that they could know a LOT more advanced tecnologies (And the Gems could join forces with the humankind with all that tecnological gem enchancements to fight against the diamonds) PS:I'm from Brazil so...we have a flight company that's called "Gol"(Goal)(You(Everyone) know why)

[@allenhooper879]

Dahawar a place in India? This is probably were Connie has been since we have not seen her for a while

[@LifeUntilLove]

I was rewatching episodes from the beginning (which I highly recommend since you notice a lot more) and you see a one dollar bill in So Many Birthdays when Steven goes to the Big Donut. Though Pearl also says she likes pie in that episode so maybe they changed things.

[@ThePoketroller]

DHARWAR airlines......... Diamond Hierarchy Accepted War airlines......... it all makes sense now !

[@ThePoketroller]

why do you say that?

[@33826_C]

yes

[@33826_C]

+Arctic Fox so is sugalite sardonnyx alexandrite and malachite

[@33826_C]

I mean gem fusions have odd names like sugalite or possibly dahwar

[@33826_C]

Dharwar

[@laiika511]

As several people have pointed out; Dhawar is the name of a region in India, and could be the name of Steven's version of India. This is much more likely than Dhawar being a city in Delmarva, or having Dhawar Airlines being based out of Delmarva. The evidence being that the plane we see is modeled after a 747, and those types of jumbo jets typically fly internationally, or between major hubs. The real world Delaware is lacking a major international airport, and considering how similar the states we have seen in Steven's world are to their real-world counterparts, it is likely that Delmarva has no major airport for a plane like that to land at.

[@Minecrafter9425]

Wait a second what if cookie cat was a representation of the gems They left their family behind or homeworld apart of an interstellar war refugees coming to earth coming from space?!?!

[@manzie8501]

That's what I was thinking but, the only difference is I thought it represented Rose.

[@Minecrafter9425]

+MarTeshia Manzie I see where your coming from

[@manzie8501]

That's probably why Steven was so stuck on cookie cat in some way I think he has some of Rose's memories but he doesn't remember them directly it's probably like a faint deja vu feeling

[@kurokuma3366]

this has been theorized before, i'd send you a video but i'm on my phone right now

[@manzie8501]

Awww do you know the title

[@FosterBaba]

Jersey was depicted perfectly from how it is now

[@luciewhale]

And yet it's called Jersey, not New Jersey.

[@FosterBaba]

+luciewhale not many people here call it new Jersey

[@knightguard1724]

+luciewhale Steven went to jersey city, New Jersey is the state but people call it New Jersey, it's like the deal with New York City, the city is called New York City and the state is called New York.

[@FosterBaba]

+Knightguard1 I'm saying both new Jersey the state and jersey city are called jersey by a lot if not most locals

[@Rr4wrRr]

+Khayre Tyler True. I'm from Jersey and I, and most people that I know that live there, just say Jersey.

[@rhar1703]

Russia is still there? I mean a huge chunk of Siberia is out of the picture, but you've got to remember that a big chunk of Russia's population live in the eastern European part, not the north Asian part. So even though Siberia would definitely be a lot different, the European part of Russia would probably be pretty similar to ours.

[@Zeverish]

The way I see it, Steven's state is called Delmarva because Rebecca Sugar is from Maryland. It's more likely that Beach City is based on Ocean City, MD (Which is near New Jersey, as Beach City also is). And, given the map alterations we have seen, I don't think Delaware ever formed. The area around Maryland, especially the bay, was formed by an asteroid impact, if the angle of the Earth is different here than that might have happened. I'm inclined to believe Steven's Universe has a higher sea level than ours, which could definitely remove delaware from the map.

[@horseenthusiast9903]

So, as a person from basically Oregon (Humboldt county, California. It's super close to Oregon), I kinda wonder how prevalent cryptids would be in culture, and if we would have more of them. Bigfoot is really popular where I live, for example, because he's said to live around here. But, in areas of Steven's world where there was more gem settlement or maybe action during war, perhaps gem monsters have become known as cryptids of a sort? I'm not sure, but it's kinda cool to think about

[@emmatamalet2970]

An idea of subject would be the relationship between amethyst and Greg... The episode where they watch "little butler" and amethyst shape in rose is definitely something important

[@edoboleyn]

I don't think the Bering land bridge crossing (and "layover," as new archaeological and genetic evidence makes increasingly likely) is out of the question. In the map, Russia's far eastern tip is right at the edge. The modem Bering Strait is only about 82 km/51 miwide at its narrowest point, while the area Beringia covered was far larger: at one point up to 1,000 km wide. It covered an area as large as the combined area of British Columbia and Alberta.

[@edoboleyn]

And humans weren't the only migrants crossing the ancient land bridge between Asia and North America. The Ice Age camelids, equids, proboscideans, and cats whose fossils we've found in North America evolved from Asian ancestors that had crossed the land bridge. The idea that Steven's world had no Beringia of its own would just need a LOT more evidence to merit a mention beside more reputable (or simply easily demonstrable) observations like "there is a huge hole in Russia" and "the Indian Subcontinent seems a great deal smaller and a lot less like a subcontinent." (And if you want to talk about long term effects, India is more important than Russia, but I realize that's not the focus of this video.)

[@JeffMaziarz]

I loved the noted substitution of the diamond for the pyramid with the eye. The diamond authority becomes conspiracy theory in their world, substituted for the ones in ours. Excellent video as always. Thank you.

[@samiam2088]

Dhawar= Da War= The War, the Gem Civil War, where the four Crystal Gems protected mankind from Homeworld? Anyone?

[@Nekrochomikon8]

In SU's version of Earth, Russia is sure smaller, but the vast majority of the population of Russia lives on the European, existing part of Russia and this is where the Russian culture developed. The lack of land in Russia is on the part of the country where there is barely anything except forests and snow, so I don't thing it would matter a lot for the culture's and nation's creation.

[@KTempestBradford]

Just to be slightly pedantic here (I knooowwwwww, I know), Earths first civilizations were well established, as were many aspects of their spirituality and "mythology" 6,000 years ago. 6K is not really that many years in the scheme of things, even in human terms. in 4,000 BCE the Egyptians and other fertile crescent civilizations were super kicking it. That's not to say you're wrong that Gems would have had a significant impact. Just saying, we weren't just wacking things with rocks as a species at that time.

[@SapphireSiren]

He never said they were. He said, twice even, that the mythologies are probably drastically different, but NOT nonexistant. Nowhere did he imply we were still in the stone ages. (And mythology does not mean "falsity/fiction" like you using scare quotes seems to imply. It is a legitimate scholarly term in cultural anthropology to refer to the actual stuff worshipped by people: deities, legends, etc. Christianity has a mythology, as does every modern religion. It's a neutral term, not a negative one.)

[@KTempestBradford]

+Sapphire Siren yeah this is not meant to be an argument, just stating some facts as I felt AJ had some ideas about where humans were development-wise 6K years ago. Did not ever say mythologies are falsities or anything like that. Please pick a fight with someone else.

[@SapphireSiren]

I'm not sure where you got the idea that I was picking a fight. You stated something, and I just neutrally explained how your line of logic didn't make sense because you assumed facts that weren't said in the video. Disagreement is not picking a fight, it's discussion. Egypt was prehistoric and pre-dynastic in 4000 BCE, so AJ's comments about how their mythologies were in their infancy is correct. They were not fully developed as we know them now because Egypt was not unified yet. Many places in Egypt were still developing copper tools, in a transition phase from stone to metal. Without a unified culture and the technology to support it, the Egyptian mythos as we know it did not really exist yet. So actually, in 4000 BCE, yeah, they were still "whacking things with rocks," as you put it. Lol. And you put mythology in quotes, so I wasn't sure what you meant. I was just explaining it to make it clear that it's not a negative term.

[@eeelneekey]

One kinda minor thing I noticed is that technology seems to have grown a little slower than in our world. It's weird, because the characters have smartphones and tablets but they use boxy CRT TVs and Steven seems to have fully working Gamecube/N64/Gameboys with games still being released for the system. They do use DVDs, though, and the way Sadie describes VHS tapes is consistent with someone her age in our world seeing them as a kinda odd/rare outdated tech. It's just weird that people use smartphones alongside more 90s era TVs and game systems, like different areas of tech grew at different rates :P

[@eeelneekey]

Oh, and Ronaldo mentions tumblr and a modern kinda social media culture (there's Peri's in-character twitter too), but his conspiracy video is so 90s it hurts. He owns a smartphone but he filmed his movie on what looks like VHS? Weird.

[@GordieKat]

Ellen Eke That is because of nostalgia/ audience relatability.

[@ctraver]

On Dhawar, that's the name of a town in India. That was also clearly a 747, a very frequent choice for international flights. So my guess on that is Dhawar Airlines is an international airline out of India. Decent likelihood that you're on target with the logo- perhaps Dhawar had some history with the Gems? One of the dots on the map is closeish to where India would be, though it's hard to say given how much of Asia is just completely warped. It's warped enough that I'd say we can't rule out that dot corresponding to the real world Dhawar(especially if the people that founded Dhawar had to go somewhere else to found it). Delmarva is interesting. It might not be a compound like you thought. Break it apart- "del" "mar" "va". "Del Mar" is Spanish for "of the sea", "va" is "goes". Delmarva could easily be a somewhat corrupted version of a Spanish phrase for "From the sea" or something to that effect. And that opens up a big potential gamechanger for world history- The Spanish clearly were the first Europeans to permanently settle the larger region. But Dewey was the first to land in Beach City? You'd expect he'd make landfall near other people if there was much of a European presence, but he didn't. He landed very early in the colonization. Which means a British dude was most likely operating under the authority of Spain. Could the Spanish Armada have successfully conquered England?(and possibly other parts of Britain and even Ireland?). There was a gem presence in Spain, this is clearer than India for sure- if the Spanish Navy and Army managed to adopt some leftover gem technology, that could have proved a decisive advantage.

[@atown4662]

Feels good to come back to two vids from aj, keep it up man 👍

[@yeojinyoo4419]

during one episode(i cant remember which)there is a scene where steven and garnet are listening to a voice track on the stereo and doing some stretching? exercise? and when they finish garnet smashes the stereo entirely. the track was in korean and resembled a morning exercise track that would play at school during P.E. classes or any sporting event from 1970 to the early 2000s. the track was has a military feel to it because it was made during a period when the government was run by military officials and this period is connected with a major part in korean history it would seem as though the korean culture still exists and has a similar resemblance to what it is today. i dont really know though

[@cody2819]

I think there's something more to this whole thing, like I said at your Tumblr (and slight spoilers). It's odd that Ronaldo took one look at his notes and shouted out "Living rocks! They want to hollow out the Earth!" Exactly what did he have in those pieces of paper that made him realize something even the human race would not had known? Was it passed down in history or, as I theorized, more gems that are still on Earth and even the Crystal Gems are unaware of?

[@kim9430]

Love this Channel

[@manuelalejandrogaray7908]

Mexico is called AquaMexico , as even amethyst said there was "an aquamexican place" where they sold burritos( i dont remeber in which episode) , and as you can see in the moon base map, Mexico has several bodies of water running through it( rivers as I could apreciate) , hence the name "Aquamexico"

[@pwojo9776]

What you said about ancient native-american ancestors not crossing the land bridge, that got me thinking. Do you think that humans once knew or possibly still know but in much smaller numbers about how to use the gem warp pads? Greg was able to use the warp pad in the temple in the episode with the geode. I thought only gems were able to use warp pads; maybe since Steven previously used it, it automatically detected Greg's DNA, but Steven (who is 1/2 gem) at first had a hard time trying to use the warp pad, while Greg got it on his first try.

[@MaestroEspada]

I don't think Gems existed or more likely Homeworld was still there when humanity was starting to develop. How do I know? Pearl says to know about the caveman on one episode and their hunting and creation of fire. Buddy's Journal and on the most recent episode "Last one out of Beach City" Pearl says she doesn't have a drivers license since she know humans wouldn't believe she's from another planet. So to resume, Gems did affect they way humanity developed but don't think their cultures changed that much. I think that humanity most likely only saw the Gems like any other very old culture, like Egyptians, Greeks, etc. and that's why a lot of things it's based on them or hints about them like Diamonds on the money, airplanes, etc.

[@joshwhite1888]

what if in steven universe people wear jewellery to emulate the gems

[@margmarg7032]

Let us all just take a moment to imagine how funny it would be to see Jasper doing the Macarena.

[@mmtruooao8377]

The use of 2$ as a base could be significant, because the numbers a society uses as a base(and the presence or lack of the number 0) indicates how their mathematicians and astronomers had advanced, since much development of measurements of time and distance is based on astrology, steven's year, month, day, night, etc. could be highly different than ours. It would also alter common numbers in society, making even numbers highly preferable in steven's world and multiples of five more unusual.

[@roseghouled_]

In the TV show that Lapis and Peridot watch, Camp Pining Hearts, they have a Canadian flag that is green and white instead of red and white. It's a subtle difference, though there isn't much too go off of in terms of what influenced it.

[@Kovugamez]

Didn't the crewniverse mention that the holidays we know don't exist in the show? But are replaced by different ones

[@AJUniverse]

Yes, that's why I said that they don't exist in the show. Thing is, there still has to be a reason why they don't exist.

[@Kovugamez]

Could be that Gem supremacy made the humans of the time more...educated and aware than they were in our universe

[@AJUniverse]

Kovu Or the arrival of Gems affected the development of religions.

[@Kovugamez]

+AJ Universe Or the gems that came were so terrifying to the humans, they forced the civilizations into a major dark age, preventing the advancement of human society and technology up until the war ended

[@AJUniverse]

Kovu Maybe, but that has nothing to do with the lack of religious holidays.

[@megalodonMT]

The most interesting cultural connection I've seen are the similarities between blue diamond and Indian culture, both in the show and in real life. The architecture that surrounds BD resembles traditional Indian buildings. She also wears a head covering similar to the one a woman is wearing in a picture in Connie's house (I think it's her mom in her wedding dress?). Also the famous blue Hope Diamond is from India :)

[@teaandphysics3846]

I just rewached the Episode catch and Release and saw somewhere around peridot getting out of the bubble a Shot in the Temple, where a pink Diamond was bubbled. Maybe it wasn't done by purpose, but it is still interesting

[@birdboi85]

AJ, 9:12 in the episode "So Many Birthdays," Steven uses a one dollar bill and some change to pay for doughnuts at the Big Doughnut. Perhaps one dollar bills are rarer on that earth like two dollar bills are on this earth.

[@no_soy_briana]

Though if you look at the totem pole in Greg's storge there's various creatures that look like gems, for example on top you can see a bird resembling the corrupted gem we saw in (I believe, not sure of the episode) Giant Woman, or a person who apears to hold a shield similar to Rose's.

[@AJUniverse]

Mario Millan Yeah. What is this "actually" to, though.

[@no_soy_briana]

AJ Universe, true, sorry for my mistake.

[@nicholasinzunza8887]

They must have barely influenced human culture because in the episode where Jamie falls head over heels in love for garnet they right a letter in which the letters used are still the same romanised letters of the alphabet as well as writing down the same words. One could argue that the animators/writers are doing this so that the viewer can read what they are writing. However, not only is it simply redundant, as they say everything aloud whilst writing, but the animators/writers have shown they will create a fake written language for the gems. So, is the "alternate earth" in Steven Universe only different culturally in things such as dollar bill symbols, state names, and national flag colors and/or symbols?

[@Artemisarrowzz]

Theres a legend here in Colombia about the goddess of the moon getting pissed at her husband (or mankind, I don't remember well) for punishing her for her childish behavior in which she decides to plant an emerald on the ground and from it an evil witch with the power to morph into a serpent and a deep hatred for nature and mankind was born, taking her power from the ground and other gems, as well as blood(Other colombians, correct me if I am wrong) I found it curious then when the first ship from homeworld landed in the colombian jungle (if I remember correctly) and I wonder if it is just coincidence or the creators knew of this legend as well.

[@AmandaTroutman]

The theories you present because they expand my experience with the lore. This theory doesn't do a strong job, I think mainly because there's already precedent for cartoons having alternative earth geography (last episode) and names to provide freedom for the writers and avoid potential issues with the audience. I have a hard time believing these theories... Totally open to the idea you're right.

[@adamhummel3277]

I'm from "Keystone" and the way pearl talked about it in that episode where garnet unfused it seemed like Greg just didn't know that it was actually called something else. Idk I could be wrong.

[@Brainship.]

I have an idea for a theory subject. What have the gems been doing for 5000 years. After everything they did and sacrificed for earth during the war they can't have just been hiding in the temple for all that time. In fact the temple itself doesn't seem like something they would have even made, at least for no reason. Of course we haven't really seen much of anything on that subject so far but I think it's worth keeping an eye out for.

[@ferzu2167]

Have you ever considered theorizing what Mask Island could be ?

[@44_Bars]

Another theory is at a point in one of the episodes is when rose quartz is videotaping Greg she presses a button and the end screen star cutout shows up, so that could only mean that Steven's adventures are just videotapes being watched at a later time.

[@Defy252]

The use of roman crosses in glitter in the episode Sadie's Song has been a bit of a wonder for me. I'm a bit sceptical that it is for artistic design and always thought it might be because of a smaller religious presence of our major religions.

[@Casno994]

Well AJ you also should think about how the Crystal Gems have affected life on Homeworld. Think about in The Answer. It was made clear that all gems had a one track mind to follow the Diamonds and their orders until Rose and Pearl started rebelling and then Ruby and Sapphire accidentally fused. It was also shown back then that gems of the same kind don't vary that much. I mean all the Rubies looked the exact same. But think about in present time. Pearls look different (Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond's Pearl look different from CG Pearl) and the Rubies shown in "Hit The Diamond" each have their own personalities and traits. Is it possible that after the events of The Answer that individual Gems started becoming more unique with their own looks and personalities? There isn't much more to back it up but yeah. Also it could be the fact that what we saw in the Answer is how Steven visioned what Garnet was telling him and that was why the Rubies don't look that different. Except... how did Steven know that all the Rubies had Garnet Hair instead of the headband that he has only seen CG Ruby with?

[@Azriel_6]

An analysis of SU technology would be valuable. For instance; Rockets, Cars, Phones, TV's etc. Rockets are so much a part of our culture that we often forget about them, but the fact that the SU universe has them has a deep meaning. It is out of the question that gems brought the idea of rocketry since their ships look nothing like our oblong ships (hands, viruses etc). Two events shaped the development of human space travel in our timeline; WW2 and the Cold War. Nazi scientists used their experience on the V2 project to help NASA get to the Moon in their competition with Russia, meaning that these may have also happened in the SU timeline. Another conflicting piece of info which might suggest that WW2 or other technology advancing events did not take place is the fact that all cars in SU seem to be of an aesthetic previous to the 1990's, while phones seem to be identical. VCR technology is suggested to be antiquated but seems to still be in use. All TV's we see are also cathode ray models and not LCD's or Plasma, which either suggests that the SU universe developed technology differently or that everyone we see is using old stuff.

[@Jacob-yg7lz]

The geographical differences between SU and real life would have diverged the timeline greatly in the Mediterranean. For example, it would be much harder for many major armies to reach Europe from Africa through Morocco. This might not sound so major, but think of it like this: 1. No Hannibal crossing Spain, possible different outcome of Punic wars. 2. No Vandals attacking Rome from North Africa. 3. No Arabs & Moors invading Iberia, meaning no reconquista & inquisition, which may mean no Columbus.

[@-liomus-8197]

The name Delaware originates from the Delaware River and Bay, named in honor of Sir Thomas West (Lord De La Warr), governor of the English colony at Jamestown, Virginia in 1610. The Delaware Tribe of Native Americans is named after the state, not the other way around

[@acidcosmos2001]

I'm really thinking gemstones may not naturally occurr on Steven's Earth. From what I've noticed, no-one ever seems to wear gemstone jewelry or anything like that. Of course, I may've just missed something or other was in an episode I missed, but it seems interesting. Plus, the homeworld Gems seem, at best, apathetic towards humans and at worst, outright hostile. So they may've seen the Gems as an equivalent to gods and that's why diamonds have come to be important symbolism.

[@Emperorofthebleedingroses2405]

The pale pink Diamond bottom left of the plane is light colored to symbolize pearl,the pink one above the purple one and the light pink one is rose quartz bottom first to the right is amethyst,top right at the end the darker one symbolizes garnet.

[@hereisyoursign6750]

Im more intrested in what the interactions between humans and gems are (the watermelon stevens could be a slight foreshadowing to this as they are similar to early humans) , in fact by the time the gems arrive if most civilizations are the same the humans should have organized empires and such on , having humans could help and i prefer to think some of the satues of rose quartz are infact human made , suggesting 1.rose quartz was seen by many different peoples 2.said peoples veiwed rose quartz seemingly as a diety due to the posture of the statues.

[@littlepanda9162]

the summer of Steven will give a lot more answers and probably more understanding of the Steven Universe's Earth

[@Deiondoes1]

It's interesting to think about but I honestly think they would go that deep with this show. I know that they have gone in depth with other things (as has many other cartoons and anime) but even they haven't gone on to show or explain things like this.

[@harringtonlittle3537]

Considering how Humans fought in Gem Wars, it'd make logical sense for Gems to be a common part of Human understanding or at least a foundation to their development into the modern world. However, I don't think Modern Humans are aware that The Crystal Gems and or Gems are still around, I'd argue Gems have become a story or a mythology to humans nowadays, and this would make sense why Gem related symbols are shown in their world, the Pink Diamonds on the plane could come from a Gym Mythological Story, State Names could follow the same procedure also, as well as currency etc. Another piece of evidence as well as the Totem Pole shown in Gregs Storage Shed seemingly showing A Gem Fusion with Rose in the middle sections detailed by her shield, and a Jasper Gem on another Gem in the bottom section, with a Bird at the top, idk what this bird relates to but perhaps it's a tribal spirit animal of sorts, but a Totem Pole often commemorates cultural beliefs that recount familiar legends e.g Gems

[@PepsVideoArchive]

I'm from México and in the show (specifically in Too Many Birthdays) Steven mentions piñatas coming from "Ancient Aqua Mexico". Also in the world map you can see that México is separated into a bunch of smaller islands, so it's possible that the asteroid, the one that likely killed the dinos, also hit in México (because the asteroid hit in the Yucatan peninsula in our world, look it up), but most likely fragmented the terrain around México, making it a bunch of islands instead of staying as a solid territory, like nowadays. It's also probable (but somewhat sightly less likely) is that the islands are artificial, not natural. I say this, because there's notable ancient cultures here in México (most notably the teotihuacans, and the aztecs, sometimes called mexicas) that built artifitial islands. It's possible that the geography and topographical changes affected the culture, giving them a slight advantage compared to our world's version. They might have developed more, and could be able to fight off the Spaniards, and finally developing into a superpower, or at least an important nation, and due to the huge artificial islands, they might have been known as Aqua Mexico out of the country, just like how we all know Japan as Japan, or China as China, but they refer to themselves with a different name (Nihon or Nippon for Japan, and Zhongguo for China).

[@AJUniverse]

Very interesting. I'd caught the Aqua Mexico thing, but cut it from this video, since I've mentioned it elsewhere, and was running low on time, but I didn't know a lot of the rest of this. Thanks.

[@johnballard3403]

I know that the Greeks and Egyptians held special significance for certain gem stones. I think in Ancient Egypt you were supposed to sleep with an amethyst to ward off bad dreams. Given that extraterrestrials decended from the heavens with the names of gem stones, I would think that ideology would have likely evolved further from "superstition" with each naturally occurring rock on the planet having properties more in line with what the Gem usually did. From there, I remember someone saying that there just where no holidays in Steven's world. I remember them saying that it was from Rebecca Sugar too.

[@soogymoogi]

Is it possible that Delmarva is actually Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia combined? (or the part of VA that makes up the peninsula) Maybe in SU's Earth, the colonies or states merged together for some reason. Might have to do with the gems, might not. just a thought!

[@Right1994]

Here's a theory for you: Rose Quartz is a fragment of the broken pink diamond and at least one other part is in the cluster, which explains the connection Steven has to the cluster, what happened to pink diamond, what lion may be (another fragment) and so on. We know that if normal Gems are broken, the fragments can still form a barely conscious form. A diamond may be so "superior" that even the fragments are comparable to normal gems. Maybe even the bubbled gem in lions mane is another fragment?

[@Estarile]

But from what we've seen of broken gems, they aren't completely rational. They are all desperately searching for the rest of themselves. I don't think a broken Gem would have the presence of mind to start a rebellion.

[@WillShackAttack]

$2 bills exist irl. I have two of them. Also I Googled and found some from the 1970's for sale (cool, I have something I can sell!) But they still look very different from Steven Universe.

[@bmoak]

Historical Friction tells us that Beach City is 200 years old, meaning that it was founded in 1815. That's incredibly late compared to settlement of the Eastern seaboard on our world. I live in upstate NY, hundreds of miles from the Atlantic and the Hudson River and my town was founded in 1792. Beach City is right on the ocean and is on the sheltered harbor of Rehoboth Bay to boot.

[@Doc51499]

Actually Delmarva is a real place it is the peninsula of Delaware Maryland and Virginia and wile Delaware sits on all of it Delaware owns the least of it because it's so small

[@Zombotron5678]

I have a theory as to what the gems may have changed because of the gems. You see when these alien ships and monsters come down there's no police force or military that would usually come and help. I think that in this reality that the Crystal Gems at some point caused world peace. I mean I know it's a kids show so a massive military force with tanks and guns aren't preferred because people think they shouldn't be in kids shows but we haven't even seen any uniforms of a peacekeeping force so it does make me wonder what happened to them

[@PartyGodDouglasProductions]

Start planning your 50,000 subscriber video because you will definitely hit it in two weeks or less! Also Great video. Was gonna do one about this myself but I have once again been outdone!

[@stargateandsc2]

One thing I noticed was that all gems even gems like yellow diamond know English and in the case of yellow diamond and her pearl used it even tho they initially did not know peridot was calling for earth so it's a fair assumption that the gems most likely the Crystal gems where the ones who introduced English to humanity, or the less likely theory that future humans or humans from another dimension made the gems programmed them to know English then at some point the gems came to this time/reality and lead to the universe we see now, anyhow that's just my theory.

[@ashitbuckettoputstuffin2895]

In stronger than you, there is a part that sounds like ruby humming. Listen to it a couple times.

[@aquawoelfly]

the changes to the great lakes would move the central hub (chicago/gary/milwuakee) north to more mid wisconsin/michigan region or to along the missispipi to illinois/iowa border as shipping from lake michigan is severely limited oh yeah and indiana becomes NOT a great lakes state.