epoch

• 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