Holocene facts for kids
The Holocene is the name for the current time period in Earth's history. It is a geological epoch, which is a long stretch of time. This epoch began about 11,700 years ago. It started right after the last major ice age ended.
We are now living in a warm period. This warm period is happening between two ice ages. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. It is also the most recent part of the Cainozoic Era.
The Holocene Warm Period
The Holocene Warm Period was a very warm time. It happened between 9,000 and 5,000 years ago. Scientists call this the Holocene Climatic Optimum (HCO). During this time, temperatures were higher than they are today. Even with recent global warming, we have not reached those past temperatures. You can see this on the temperature diagram. After this warm period, Earth's temperatures slowly became cooler. This cooling continued until about 2,000 years ago.
What Happened During the Holocene?
The Holocene is also known as the Recent epoch. It marks the end of the many ice ages. These ice ages happened during the Pleistocene epoch. Temperatures rose very quickly at the start of the Holocene.
Many large mammals died out during the early Holocene. This was due to two main reasons. One reason was human hunting. The other reason was big climate changes.
As the Earth warmed, huge ice sheets melted. This caused sea levels to rise. Several land bridges disappeared under the water. For example, the land bridge between Russia and Alaska melted. Another land bridge between China and Japan also disappeared. This event marked the beginning of the Jōmon period in Japan. Many land bridges between islands in Southeast Asia also vanished.
Images for kids
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A necklace made of bronze beads. This artifact is from the Muséum de Toulouse.
See also
In Spanish: Holoceno para niños
