radiocarbon

An illustration from an 18th century history of the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards.

How disease and genocide marked the start of the ‘human age’

March 18, 2015Environment

A new study gives us a new date for the start of the human, or Anthropocene age: 1610. That’s when the movement of crops, animals and diseases around the world shows up clearly in the geological record — but it still has some competition.

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