designating or of the second and current epoch of the Quaternary Period, characterized by a warm climate and the development of modern human culture
Origin:
holo- + -cene
See Holocene in American Heritage Dictionary 4
adjective
Of or belonging to the geologic time, rock series, or sedimentary deposits of the more recent of the two epochs of the Quaternary Period, beginning at the end of the last Ice Age about 11,000 years ago and characterized by the development of human civilizations. See Table at geologic time.