Hatching a Theory

摘要

JUST AS DINOSAURS CHARACTERIZED THE CRETACEOUS PERIOD, which ended with their extinction 66 million years ago, and mammals made up the Holocene, which extends to the present day, many scientists believe we need to designate a new geologic age, called the Anthropocene, that reflects the impact of humankind on the planet. That raises the question, What will constitute the most salient feature of the Anthropocene in the fossil record? It's likely to be chicken bones, according to a study by Carys Bennett, from the U.K.'s University of Leicester, and colleagues published last month in Royal Society Open Science.