The Holocene Epoch

 

  

To start this presentation off, we must point out that the epoch’s name “Holocene” means “completely recent”. This means that our current geological appearance is the same as it was 10,000 years ago, when the epoch began. Before this epoch, the planet was frozen. Afterwards, however, came a series of global warming phases which ended the Ice Ages

            As mentioned earlier, the Holocene epoch melts away the Earth’s frozen surface. There were, of course, colder periods. It was warm for about 5,000 years but then it descended into the Neoglacial, where there were cold temperatures. Followed by this phase, came the Medieval Warm Period and after that came Little Ice Age, which isn’t that significant, because it didn’t freeze the planet at all. The Neoglacial Age was obviously more significant than the Little Ice Age.

            The Holocene Epoch dates from 10,000 years ago to today. This means that our map today is more or less the same as it was 10,000 years ago.

            The Holocene Epoch is characterized by its human presence. The first civilizations emerge from this time period, and its activities start affecting climate (global warming). This caused the extinction of prehistoric life forms, as well as the emergence of others. For the first time, Homo Sapien Sapien affects geology and leaves great amounts of traces of existence.