The current epoch, beginning as the last glacial period ended, and covering the whole of recorded human history: agriculture, cities, writing, all of it Holocene. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
Start (Million Years Ago)Approximately 11,700 years ago per the cited article; the epoch is ongoing, so no end-mya is written. End (Million Years Ago)The Holocene is the current, ongoing epoch; 0 Mya marks the present day, the standard geologic timescale convention for an open upper boundary. Key EventThe retreat of the last ice sheets and the entire span of recorded human civilization, agriculture onward. 1 Connections
Anticipated By
Associated With
Anthropocene, Concepts Why this is disputed. Anthropocene is proposed as the epoch succeeding the Holocene, but the International Commission on Stratigraphy rejected formal ratification in 2024, so the Holocene remains the current live epoch of the geologic time scale.
Has Geologic Rank
In Discipline
Source Geologic Time Scale (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Geologic Time Scale (Wikipedia)
2. Holocene (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead sectionQuote, Lead section
The Holocene () is the current geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago.
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