Why didn’t this 2,000 year old body decompose? - Carolyn Marshall episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 8, 2026 · 7 MIN

Why didn’t this 2,000 year old body decompose? - Carolyn Marshall

from TED-Ed · host TED-Ed

Discover the surprising biodiversity of soil, and how its microbes help support all life on Earth.--It may not appear very lively six feet underground, but a single teaspoon of soil contains more organisms than there are human beings on the planet. From bacteria and algae to fungi and protozoa, soils are home to one quarter of Earth’s biodiversity. And perhaps soil’s most important inhabitants are its microbes. Carolyn Marshall digs into how soil’s invisible helpers support all life on Earth.Lesson by Carolyn Marshall, directed by Ivana Bošnjak and Thomas Johnson.Support Our Non-Profit Mission----------------------------------------------Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreonCheck out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop----------------------------------------------Connect With Us----------------------------------------------Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletterFollow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebookFind us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitterPeep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram----------------------------------------------Keep Learning----------------------------------------------View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-didn-t-this-2-000-year-old-body-decompose-carolyn-marshallDig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-didn-t-this-2-000-year-old-body-decompose-carolyn-marshall#digdeeper----------------------------------------------Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Karthik Cherala, Joshua Merchant, Clarence E. Harper Jr., Clarissa Bartolini-Toro, Exal Enrique Cisneros Tuch, Srikote Naewchampa, Tejas Dc, Khalifa Alhulail, Martin Stephen, Dan Paterniti, Jose Henrique Leopoldo e Silva, Elnathan Joshua Bangayan, Jayant Sahewal, Mandeep Singh, Abhijit Kiran Valluri, Morgan Williams, Kris Siverhus, Devin Harris, Joy Love Om, Pavel Zalevskiy, Marc Bilodeau, Karen Goepen-Wee, Filip Dabrowski, Barbara Smalley, Megan Douglas, Chris, Tim Leistikow, Renhe Ji, Ka-Hei Law, Leora Allen, Mark Morris, Misaki Sato, EdoKun , Boytsov Ilya, SookKwan Loong, Bev Millar, Lex Azevedo, Noa Shore, Kyle Nguyen, Michael Aquilina, MJ Tan Mingjie, Dawn Jordan, Prasanth Mathialagan, Samuel Doerle, David Rosario, Siamak H, Manav parmar, David Lucsanyi, Anthony Kudolo and Ryohky Araya. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Why didn’t this 2,000 year old body decompose? - Carolyn Marshall

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