ANTC28H3

Living through the Anthropocene

We are living through the Anthropocene, a time in which humans have broadly transformed Earth’s composition and environmental processes. Did this period begin in 1950? Applying Indigenous and archaeological knowledges, we will contribute to debates concerning the deeper histories of a multi-sited, patchy Anthropocene. Past societies have lived through their own “Anthropocenes”, and their diverse stories are needed to shape contemporary environmental conservation initiatives. Critical plot points come from Indigenous Knowledge, archaeological materials, and paleoenvironmental evidence recorded in sediment cores. We will learn to integrate these lines of evidence through investigations of Indigenous environmental stewardship and lake sediment cores in Ontario.