Holocene vs. Anthropocene — What's the Difference?
Difference Between Holocene and Anthropocene
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Holocene
The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years before present (c. 9700 BCE), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat.
Anthropocene
The period of time during which human activities are thought to have had a significant impact on the global environment, regarded as having begun sometime between eight thousand years ago, with the spread of agriculture, and two hundred years ago, with the advent of industrialization. The Anthropocene has been proposed as a new epoch of geologic time, following the Holocene.
Holocene
Of, relating to, or being the epoch of geologic time from about 12,000 years ago to the present, the more recent of the two epochs of the Quaternary Period. It began at the end of the last Ice Age and is characterized by the development of human civilizations. See Table at geologic time.
Anthropocene
The Anthropocene ( AN-thrə-pə-seen, an-THROP-ə-) is a proposed geological epoch dating from the commencement of significant human impact on Earth's geology and ecosystems, including, but not limited to, anthropogenic climate change.As of April 2022, neither the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) nor the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) has officially approved the term as a recognised subdivision of geologic time, although the Anthropocene Working Group (AWG) of the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy (SQS) of the ICS voted in April 2016 to proceed towards a formal golden spike (GSSP) proposal to define the Anthropocene epoch in the geologic time scale (GTS) and presented the recommendation to the International Geological Congress in August 2016. In May 2019, the AWG voted in favour of submitting a formal proposal to the ICS by 2021, locating potential stratigraphic markers to the mid-twentieth century of the common era.
Holocene
The Holocene Epoch.
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Anthropocene
Of or relating to the Anthropocene.
Holocene
The geological period comprising approximately the last 10,000 years.
Holocene
Approximately the last 10,000 years
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