Synchronizing Earthly Timescales : Ice,Pollen, and the Making of Proto-Anthropocene Knowledge in the North Atlantic Region
The Anthropocene concept frames an emerging new understanding of the human–Earth relationship. Itrepresents a profound temporal integration that brings historical periodization on a par with geological timeand creates entanglements between timescales that were previously seen as detached. Because th...
Published in: | Annals of the American Association of Geographers |
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KTH, Historiska studier av teknik, vetenskap och miljö
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Online Access: | http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-286126 https://doi.org/10.1080/24694452.2020.1823809 |
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ftkthstockholm:oai:DiVA.org:kth-286126 2023-05-15T17:34:36+02:00 Synchronizing Earthly Timescales : Ice,Pollen, and the Making of Proto-Anthropocene Knowledge in the North Atlantic Region Sörlin, Sverker Isberg, Erik 2020 application/pdf http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-286126 https://doi.org/10.1080/24694452.2020.1823809 eng eng KTH, Historiska studier av teknik, vetenskap och miljö , 2020, 110, s. 1-12 Annals ofthe American Association of Geographers, 0004-5608, 2020, 110, s. 1-12 orcid:0000-0003-2864-2315 orcid:0000-0002-3041-2466 http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-286126 doi:10.1080/24694452.2020.1823809 ISI:000590631200001 Scopus 2-s2.0-85096320677 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess History Historia Environmental Sciences Miljövetenskap Article in journal info:eu-repo/semantics/article text 2020 ftkthstockholm https://doi.org/10.1080/24694452.2020.1823809 2022-08-11T12:35:26Z The Anthropocene concept frames an emerging new understanding of the human–Earth relationship. Itrepresents a profound temporal integration that brings historical periodization on a par with geological timeand creates entanglements between timescales that were previously seen as detached. Because theAnthropocene gets this role of a unifying planetary concept, the ways in which vast geological timescaleswere incorporated into human history are often taken for granted. By tracing the early history of theprocesses of synchronizing human and geological timescales, this article aims to historicize the Anthropoceneconcept. The work of bridging divides between human and geological time was renegotiated and took newdirections in physical geography and cognate sciences from the middle decades of the twentieth century.Through researchers such as Ahlmann (Sweden), Seligman (United Kingdom), and Dansgaard (Denmark)in geography and glaciology and Davis (United States) and Iversen (Denmark) in palynology andbiogeography, methodologies that became used in synchronizing planetary timescales were discussed andpracticed for integrative understanding well before the Anthropocene concept emerged. This article showsthrough studies of their theoretical assumptions and research practices that the Anthropocene could beconceived as a result of a longer history of production of integrative geo-anthropological time. It also showsthe embedding of concepts and methodologies from neighboring fields of significance for geography. Bysituating and historicizing spaces and actors, texture is added to the Anthropocene, a concept that hashitherto often been detached from the specific contexts and geographies of the scientific work that enabledits emergence QC 20201124 Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm: KTHs Publication Database DiVA Ahlmann ENVELOPE(-65.750,-65.750,-67.867,-67.867) Seligman ENVELOPE(-65.466,-65.466,-67.833,-67.833) Annals of the American Association of Geographers 111 3 717 728 |
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Open Polar |
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Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm: KTHs Publication Database DiVA |
op_collection_id |
ftkthstockholm |
language |
English |
topic |
History Historia Environmental Sciences Miljövetenskap |
spellingShingle |
History Historia Environmental Sciences Miljövetenskap Sörlin, Sverker Isberg, Erik Synchronizing Earthly Timescales : Ice,Pollen, and the Making of Proto-Anthropocene Knowledge in the North Atlantic Region |
topic_facet |
History Historia Environmental Sciences Miljövetenskap |
description |
The Anthropocene concept frames an emerging new understanding of the human–Earth relationship. Itrepresents a profound temporal integration that brings historical periodization on a par with geological timeand creates entanglements between timescales that were previously seen as detached. Because theAnthropocene gets this role of a unifying planetary concept, the ways in which vast geological timescaleswere incorporated into human history are often taken for granted. By tracing the early history of theprocesses of synchronizing human and geological timescales, this article aims to historicize the Anthropoceneconcept. The work of bridging divides between human and geological time was renegotiated and took newdirections in physical geography and cognate sciences from the middle decades of the twentieth century.Through researchers such as Ahlmann (Sweden), Seligman (United Kingdom), and Dansgaard (Denmark)in geography and glaciology and Davis (United States) and Iversen (Denmark) in palynology andbiogeography, methodologies that became used in synchronizing planetary timescales were discussed andpracticed for integrative understanding well before the Anthropocene concept emerged. This article showsthrough studies of their theoretical assumptions and research practices that the Anthropocene could beconceived as a result of a longer history of production of integrative geo-anthropological time. It also showsthe embedding of concepts and methodologies from neighboring fields of significance for geography. Bysituating and historicizing spaces and actors, texture is added to the Anthropocene, a concept that hashitherto often been detached from the specific contexts and geographies of the scientific work that enabledits emergence QC 20201124 |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Sörlin, Sverker Isberg, Erik |
author_facet |
Sörlin, Sverker Isberg, Erik |
author_sort |
Sörlin, Sverker |
title |
Synchronizing Earthly Timescales : Ice,Pollen, and the Making of Proto-Anthropocene Knowledge in the North Atlantic Region |
title_short |
Synchronizing Earthly Timescales : Ice,Pollen, and the Making of Proto-Anthropocene Knowledge in the North Atlantic Region |
title_full |
Synchronizing Earthly Timescales : Ice,Pollen, and the Making of Proto-Anthropocene Knowledge in the North Atlantic Region |
title_fullStr |
Synchronizing Earthly Timescales : Ice,Pollen, and the Making of Proto-Anthropocene Knowledge in the North Atlantic Region |
title_full_unstemmed |
Synchronizing Earthly Timescales : Ice,Pollen, and the Making of Proto-Anthropocene Knowledge in the North Atlantic Region |
title_sort |
synchronizing earthly timescales : ice,pollen, and the making of proto-anthropocene knowledge in the north atlantic region |
publisher |
KTH, Historiska studier av teknik, vetenskap och miljö |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-286126 https://doi.org/10.1080/24694452.2020.1823809 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-65.750,-65.750,-67.867,-67.867) ENVELOPE(-65.466,-65.466,-67.833,-67.833) |
geographic |
Ahlmann Seligman |
geographic_facet |
Ahlmann Seligman |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_relation |
, 2020, 110, s. 1-12 Annals ofthe American Association of Geographers, 0004-5608, 2020, 110, s. 1-12 orcid:0000-0003-2864-2315 orcid:0000-0002-3041-2466 http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-286126 doi:10.1080/24694452.2020.1823809 ISI:000590631200001 Scopus 2-s2.0-85096320677 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1080/24694452.2020.1823809 |
container_title |
Annals of the American Association of Geographers |
container_volume |
111 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
717 |
op_container_end_page |
728 |
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1766133494734389248 |