Late Holocene
Meghalayan age (approximately 4.2 ka to present).
Language and route: English ordinal adjective late + already established Holocene epoch name. English ordinal adjective late + already established Holocene epoch name. English positional term / inherited scientific epoch name.
Literal gloss: late 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?
- late part of the Holocene
- What did the original author mean?
- Late is an ordinary English ordinal term rather than an etymological allusion to aridity or cultural decline.
- Why was the name needed?
- Before formalisation, scholars routinely used late Holocene for different time windows in archaeology, palaeoclimate and marine geology.
- What evidence supported the original concept?
- The Mawmluh cave speleothem GSSP and other 4.2 ka event proxies supplied a reproducible boundary.
- How has geology changed the concept?
- IUGS formally aligned Late/Upper Holocene with Meghalayan in June 2018; descriptions predating this do not necessarily use that exact chronostratigraphic span.
Further historical context
Late is an ordinary English ordinal term rather than an etymological allusion to aridity or cultural decline.
Before formalisation, scholars routinely used late Holocene for different time windows in archaeology, palaeoclimate and marine geology.
The Mawmluh cave speleothem GSSP and other 4.2 ka event proxies supplied a reproducible boundary.
IUGS formally aligned Late/Upper Holocene with Meghalayan in June 2018; descriptions predating this do not necessarily use that exact chronostratigraphic span.
Editorial qualification
14 June 2018 establishes formal rank, not first use of 'late'; 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