what era are we in

Geologists break down the Earths history into eras, periods, epochs, and ages. Our current era is the Cenozoic, which is itself broken down into three periods. We live in the most recent period, the Quaternary, which is then broken down into two epochs: the current Holocene, and the previous Pleistocene, which ended 11,700 years ago. However, in 2022, geologists redefined the present age that human civilization is living in, deciding to call the last 4,200 years the "Meghalayan Age". This new classification will help scientists better understand the events of the last few thousand years. Some geologists are also working on defining a brand-new era to succeed the Holocene, called the Anthropocene, which is characterized by human-induced, planetary-scale changes that are unfinished but very much underway.