The DOI matches its Crossref record; 39 of the 39 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The technofossil record of humans
Open accessAbstract
As humans have colonised and modified the Earth’s surface, they have developed progressively more sophisticated tools and technologies. These underpin a new kind of stratigraphy, that we term technostratigraphy, marked by the geologically accelerated evolution and diversification of technofossils – the preservable material remains of the technosphere (Haff, 2013), driven by human purpose and transmitted cultural memory, and with the dynamics of an emergent system. The technosphere, present in some form for most of the Quaternary, shows several thresholds. Its expansion and transcontinental synchronisation in the mid 20th century has produced a global technostratigraphy that combines very high time-resolution, great geometrical complexity and wide (including transplanetary) extent. Technostratigraphy can help characterise the deposits of a potential Anthropocene Epoch and its emergence marks a step change in planetary mode.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“these so-called technofossils ( 28 ) provide annual to decadal stratigraphic resolution ( 22, 19 ), far greater than can be obtained from first and last appearances of fossil taxa, which have traditionally provided the most common means of correlating stratal sections ( 29 ).”
From The Anthropocene is functionally and stratigraphically distinct from the Holocene (2016) · cites this paper as [28]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
A safe operating space for humanity
Rockström, J., Steffen, W., Noone, K., Persson, Å., Chapin, F. S., Lambin, E. F., Lenton, T. M., Scheffer, M., Folke, C., Schellnhuber, H. J., et al. (2009) · Nature · doi:10.1038/461472a · Cited by 13,333
Crutzen, P. J. (2002) · Nature · doi:10.1038/415023a · Cited by 4,788
The Climate of History: Four Theses
Chakrabarty, D. (2008) · Critical Inquiry · doi:10.1086/596640 · Cited by 4,072
Harland, W. B. (1982) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · Cited by 3,806
The Anthropocene: Are Humans Now Overwhelming the Great Forces of Nature
Steffen, W., Crutzen, P. J., & McNeill, J. R. (2007) · AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment · doi:10.1579/0044-7447(2007)36[614:taahno]2.0.co;2 · Cited by 3,487
Systematics and the Origin of Species
National Academy of Sciences (2005) · National Academies Press eBooks · doi:10.17226/11310 · Cited by 3,451
Occurrence, behavior and effects of nanoparticles in the environment
Nowack, B., & Bucheli, T. D. (2007) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2007.06.006 · Cited by 2,341
The Anthropocene: From Global Change to Planetary Stewardship
Steffen, W., Persson, Å., Deutsch, L., Zalasiewicz, J., Williams, M., Richardson, K., Crumley, C. L., Crutzen, P. J., Folke, C., Gordon, L. J., et al. (2011) · AMBIO · doi:10.1007/s13280-011-0185-x · Cited by 1,887
Self-citationClassify plastic waste as hazardous
Rochman, C. M., Browne, M. A., Halpern, B. S., Hentschel, B. T., Hoh, E., Karapanagioti, H. K., Rios-Mendoza, L. M., Takada, H., Teh, S., & Thompson, R. C. (2013) · Nature · doi:10.1038/494169a · Cited by 1,752
A new geomagnetic polarity time scale for the Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic
Cande, S. C., & Kent, D. V. (1992) · Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres · doi:10.1029/92jb01202 · Cited by 1,518
Systematics and the Origin of Species
(1943) · Annals of the Entomological Society of America · doi:10.1093/aesa/36.1.138a · Cited by 1,366
Globally networked risks and how to respond
Helbing, D. (2013) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature12047 · Cited by 1,281
From the Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society
Parsons, W. (2011) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9781139103848.007 · Cited by 1,079
Wade, B. S., Pearson, P. N., Berggren, W. A., & Pälike, H. (2010) · Earth-Science Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2010.09.003 · Cited by 1,066
Man and the Last Great Wilderness: Human Impact on the Deep Sea
Ramírez-Llodra, E., Tyler, P. A., Baker, M., Bergstad, O. A., Clark, M. R., Escobar-Briones, E. G., Levin, L. A., Menot, L., Rowden, A. A., Smith, C. R., et al. (2011) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0022588 · Cited by 900
Late Quaternary Extinctions: State of the Debate
Koch, P. L., & Barnosky, A. D. (2006) · Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics · doi:10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.34.011802.132415 · Cited by 885
Self-citationAre we now living in the Anthropocene
Zalasiewicz, J., Williams, M., Smith, A. Р., Barry, T. L., Coe, A. L., Bown, P. R., Brenchley, P. J., Cantrill, D. J., Gale, A. S., Gibbard, P. L., et al. (2008) · GSA Today · doi:10.1130/gsat01802a.1 · Cited by 794
Self-citationPaleolithic Technology and Human Evolution
Ambrose, S. H. (2001) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1059487 · Cited by 791
The Heartbeat of the Oligocene Climate System
Pälike, H., Norris, R. D., Herrle, J. O., Wilson, P. A., Coxall, H. K., Lear, C. H., Shackleton, N. J., Tripati, A., & Wade, B. S. (2006) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1133822 · Cited by 704
Hazen, R. M., Papineau, D., Bleeker, W., Downs, R. T., Ferry, J. M., McCoy, T. J., Sverjensky, D. A., & Yang, H. (2008) · American Mineralogist · doi:10.2138/am.2008.2955 · Cited by 701 · cited 1×
“The origin and diversification of metazoans has produced relatively few new mineral types over and above inorganic mineral species (Hazen et al., 2008).”
BackgroundThe Anthropocene: a new epoch of geological time?
Zalasiewicz, J., Williams, M., Haywood, A., & Ellis, M. (2011) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences · doi:10.1098/rsta.2010.0339 · Cited by 646
Self-citation(2022) · University of Arizona Press eBooks · doi:10.2307/j.ctv264f91j · Cited by 363
Late PlioceneHomoand Oldowan Tools from the Hadar Formation (Kada Hadar Member), Ethiopia
Kimbel, W. H., Walter, R. C., Johanson, D. C., Reed, K. E., Aronson, J. L., Assefa, Z., Marean, C. W., Eck, G. G., Bobe, R. L., Hovers, E., et al. (1996) · Journal of Human Evolution · doi:10.1006/jhev.1996.0079 · Cited by 341
A stratigraphical basis for the Anthropocene?
Waters, C. N., Zalasiewicz, J. A., Williams, M., Ellis, M. A., & Snelling, A. M. (2014) · Geological Society, London, Special Publications · doi:10.1144/sp395.18 · Cited by 318
Self-citationMelchin, M. J., Sadler, P. M., Cramer, B. D., Cooper, R. A., Gradstein, F. M., & Hammer, Ø. (2012) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-444-59425-9.00021-4 · Cited by 226
Technology as a geological phenomenon: implications for human well-being
Haff, P. K. (2014) · Geological Society, London, Special Publications · doi:10.1144/sp395.4 · Cited by 196
Self-citationWolfe, A. P., Hobbs, W. O., Birks, H. H., Briner, J. P., Holmgren, S. U., Ingólfsson, Ó., Kaushal, S. S., Miller, G. H., Pagani, M., Saros, J. E., et al. (2013) · Earth-Science Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2012.11.001 · Cited by 190
Ratcliffe, B. C., & Fagerstrom, J. A. (1980) · Lincoln (University of Nebraska) · Cited by 169
Rock hyrax middens: A palaeoenvironmental archive for southern African drylands
Chase, B., Scott, L., Meadows, M. E., Gil‐Romera, G., Boom, A., Carr, A. S., Reimer, P. J., Truc, L., Valsecchi, V., & Quick, L. J. (2012) · Quaternary Science Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2012.08.018 · Cited by 123
Green cement: Concrete solutions
Amato, I. (2013) · Nature · doi:10.1038/494300a · Cited by 112
Gradstein, F. M. (2012) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-444-59425-9.00001-9 · Cited by 74
Palaeontological evidence for defining the Anthropocene
Barnosky, A. D. (2014) · Geological Society, London, Special Publications · doi:10.1144/sp395.6 · Cited by 72
Self-citationTroczynski, T. (2004) · Nature Materials · doi:10.1038/nmat1039 · Cited by 56
Haff, P. K. (2010) · Earth Surface Processes and Landforms · doi:10.1002/esp.1902 · Cited by 55
Self-citationTechnology and human purpose: the problem of solids transport on the Earth's surface
Haff, P. K. (2012) · Earth System Dynamics · doi:10.5194/esd-3-149-2012 · Cited by 52
Self-citation(1964) · Sedimentology · doi:10.1111/j.1365-3091.1964.tb00464.x · Cited by 50
Is the fossil record of complex animal behaviour a stratigraphical analogue for the Anthropocene?
Williams, M., Zalasiewicz, J., Waters, C. N., & Landing, E. (2013) · Geological Society London Special Publications · doi:10.1144/sp395.8 · Cited by 24
Self-citationTechnology and human purpose: the problem of solids transport on the earth's surfacePreprint
Haff, P. K. (2012) · doi:10.5194/esdd-3-417-2012 · Cited by 11
Self-citationAdvances in the study of behaviour, volume 15
Smith, P. K. (1986) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/0301-0511(86)90069-4 · Cited by 1
Research works printed but not linked: 6
- Ford JR, A Stratigraphical Basis for the Anthropocene
- Ratcliffe BC, 1980, Journal of Paleontology, 54, 614
- Toffler A, 1970, Future Shock
- Wilkinson IP, A Stratigraphical Basis for the Anthropocene
- Zalasiewicz J, A Stratigraphical Basis for the Anthropocene
- Zalasiewicz J, A Stratigraphical Basis for the Anthropocene
Cited by
Sorted by citations
The Anthropocene is functionally and stratigraphically distinct from the Holocene
Waters, C. N., Zalasiewicz, J., Summerhayes, C., Barnosky, A. D., Poirier, C., Gałuszka, A., Cearreta, A., Edgeworth, M., Ellis, E. C., Ellis, M., et al. (2016) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.aad2622 · Cited by 2,375
“Analogous to biotic fossil remains, these so-called technofossils (28) provide”
BackgroundSelf-citationThe geological cycle of plastics and their use as a stratigraphic indicator of the Anthropocene
Zalasiewicz, J., Waters, C. N., do Sul, J. A. I., Corcoran, P. L., Barnosky, A. D., Cearreta, A., Edgeworth, M., Gałuszka, A., Jeandel, C., Leinfelder, R., et al. (2016) · Anthropocene · doi:10.1016/j.ancene.2016.01.002 · Cited by 1,019
Self-citationWhen did the Anthropocene begin? A mid-twentieth century boundary level is stratigraphically optimal
Zalasiewicz, J., Waters, C. N., Williams, M., Barnosky, A. D., Cearreta, A., Crutzen, P., Ellis, E., Ellis, M. A., Fairchild, I. J., Grinevald, J., et al. (2015) · Quaternary International · doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2014.11.045 · Cited by 784
Self-citationThe Working Group on the Anthropocene: Summary of evidence and interim recommendations
Zalasiewicz, J., Waters, C. N., Summerhayes, C. P., Wolfe, A. P., Barnosky, A. D., Cearreta, A., Crutzen, P., Ellis, E., Fairchild, I. J., Gałuszka, A., et al. (2017) · Anthropocene · doi:10.1016/j.ancene.2017.09.001 · Cited by 487
Self-citationInterscalar Vehicles for an African Anthropocene: On Waste, Temporality, and Violence
Hecht, G. (2018) · Cultural Anthropology · doi:10.14506/ca33.1.05 · Cited by 499
Metadata
- Authors
- Zalasiewicz, J., Williams, M., Waters, C. N., Barnosky, A. D., & Haff, P.
- Affiliations
- University of Leicester (GB)
- British Geological Survey (GB)
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (US)
- Duke University (US)
- Venue
- The Anthropocene Review
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2014-01-07
- Volume
- 1
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 34-43
- ISSN
- 2053-0196 (ISSN-L)
- 2053-020X
- OpenAlex
- W2161092780
- Cited by
- 272
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 19 · 2025: 57 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 25 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 33 · 2019: 28 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 8
- FWCI
- 17.47
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- figshare.com
- Locations
- The Anthropocene Review (publishedVersion)
- NERC Open Research Archive (Natural Environment Research Council) (acceptedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Leicester Research Archive (University of Leicester) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- Natural Environment Research Council (bgs05001)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil and Environmental Studies
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Earth Systems and Cosmic Evolution
- Keywords
- technosphere, Anthropocene, anthropogenic landscapes, cultural memory, Quaternary
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
