major division of geological time or civilizational time
geological epochs: Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, Pliocene, Pleistocene, Holocene
civilizational epochs: Neolithic revolution, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Renaissance, Industrial Revolution, Information Age
the Holocene began ~11700 years ago after the last glacial period
the Anthropocene is a proposed epoch defined by human impact on Earth's geology and ecosystems
in cyber, block height functions as an epoch marker for digital civilizational time
each epoch boundary marks an irreversible transition in complexity, energy use, or knowledge organization