Ernst Haeckel, ancient forests, and the Anthropocene

Abstract

In this Addendum to an article in Nature commemorating the 100th anniversary of Ernst Haeckel’s death (9 August 1919), we recall the largely forgotten fact that Haeckel (1868) was an early proponent of the concept of an “Anthropozoic Age”, a 19th-century anticipation of the “Anthropocene”. Haeckel in particular highlighted man’s extensive remodeling of the planet in ancient forests. Earlier influences on Haeckel included Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) and dozens of similar writers in the 19th century Romantic era, including the Italian geologist and priest Antonio Stoppani (1824–1891), and the American diplomat and environmentalist George P. Marsh (1801–1882). Starting in the 1840s, Marsh described in extraordinary detail the destructive influence of mankind on natural ecosystems, again with particular emphasis on the destruction of forests. Marsh, like Haeckel after him, was a pioneer in describing the far-reaching human re-modeling of the planet that they and their colleagues presciently labeled the “Anthropozoic Age”.