Holocene Epoch

Current post-glacial Quaternary epoch beginning 11,700 years ago, encompassing the Neolithic Revolution and recorded history.

Specifications & Metrics

type: Standard Stratigraphic Chronology
timespan: 11,700 years BP (9700 BCE) – Present (Greenlandian, Northgrippian, and Meghalayan ages)
defining boundary: Abrupt warming at the end of the Younger Dryas stadial in the Greenland NGRIP2 ice core
proponents or Body: Paul Gervais (coined 1867); ratified by IUGS/ICS (1885, 2008, 2018)
key evidence: 35–65 m eustatic sea-level rise, up to 180 m post-glacial rebound, African Humid Period, 8.2 ka & 4.2 ka events

Beginning 11,700 years before 2000 CE (9700 BCE) with the rapid termination of the Younger Dryas cold stadial, the Holocene is subdivided by the ICS into the Greenlandian (11.7–8.2 ka), Northgrippian (8.2–4.2 ka), and Meghalayan (4.2 ka–present) ages.
Melting of the Pleistocene continental ice sheets raised global sea levels by roughly 65 meters — submerging coastal shelves — while unloading of the crust triggered up to 180 meters of ongoing isostatic post-glacial rebound in Scandinavia and Hudson Bay.
Early-to-Mid Holocene monsoon shifts turned the Sahara into a lake-dotted savanna during the African Humid Period (~11,000–5,500 BP) while warm, stable interglacial conditions enabled agriculture in the Fertile Crescent and the rise of urban civilizations.