The Holocene, an epoch, is part of the geological measurement of time and refers to the last 12 thousand years of history. Also known as the Age of Man, the Holocene is characterized by the time period during which many human civilizations emerged and fell, including the extinction of large mammals such as the wooly rhino and the end of the Paleolithic Ice Age. During this period, the earth’s climate had undergone multiple drastic changes, including the little Ice Age, a small period of lower temperatures without the presence of glaciers followed by an increase in temperature. These changes had other so-called side-effects such as human population increases, game scarcity, and rapid development across human processes. You may also know this epoch as the Anthropocene.