Early Holocene
Greenlandian age (approximately 11.7–8.2 ka).
Language and route: English ordinal adjective early + already established Holocene epoch name. English ordinal adjective early + already established Holocene epoch name. English positional term / inherited scientific epoch name.
Literal gloss: early part of the Holocene
The name and its history
No single original coiner; IUGS ratified formal rank on 14 June 2018 · formal rank ratified 14 June 2018 (not original word use)
- What does the word literally mean?
- early part of the Holocene
- What did the original author mean?
- Early is an ordinal adjective for the earliest part of the Holocene and was in informal use long before modern ratification.
- Why was the name needed?
- An ambiguous informal “early Holocene” became problematic as ice-core, archaeological and sea-level chronologies attained greater precision.
- What evidence supported the original concept?
- The 2008 ratified Holocene basal GSSP, together with the Northgrippian basal GSSP, brackets the Greenlandian interval.
- How has geology changed the concept?
- In 2018 the English ordinal term acquired a defined official subepoch rank corresponding exactly to the Greenlandian; Lower applies to stratigraphic layers.
Further historical context
Early is an ordinal adjective for the earliest part of the Holocene and was in informal use long before modern ratification.
An ambiguous informal “early Holocene” became problematic as ice-core, archaeological and sea-level chronologies attained greater precision.
The 2008 ratified Holocene basal GSSP, together with the Northgrippian basal GSSP, brackets the Greenlandian interval.
In 2018 the English ordinal term acquired a defined official subepoch rank corresponding exactly to the Greenlandian; Lower applies to stratigraphic layers.
Editorial qualification
14 June 2018 establishes formal rank, not first use of 'early'; time divisions use Early/Late, rock units Lower/Upper.
Related names
Sources
- ICS, International Chronostratigraphic Chart v2026/06 — Governing classification, chronological sequence and numerical reference ages; not naming priority
- Walker et al. (2012), Formal subdivision of the Holocene: discussion paper — Contemporaneous proposal to replace variable informal tripartition by worldwide divisions
- Walker et al. (2018), Formal ratification of the subdivision of the Holocene, Episodes — Official naming, locations, proxy markers and ratification on 14 June 2018
- Walker et al. (2019), Subdividing the Holocene: GSSPs and auxiliary stratotypes — Detailed explanation of the Holocene stage names and definitions
- ICS, International Stratigraphic Guide: Chronostratigraphic Units — Stage/age, series/epoch and subseries/subepoch distinctions