While much of the environmental change occurring on Earth is suspected to be a direct consequence of the Industrial Revolution, William Ruddiman has argued that the proposed Anthropocene began approximately 8,000 years ago with the development of farming and sedentary cultures.
Aínda que unha gran parte dos cambios ambientais ocorridos na Terra crese que son unha consecuencia directa da Revolución Industrial, William Ruddiman argumentou que a época proposta do antropoceno empezou antes, aproximadamente hai 8.000 anos co desenvolvemento das culturas agrícolas e sedentarias.