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Meghalaya Gets Into The Chapters of Earth’s History As The Latest Era Is Named After It

byPramit Chatterjee
19th July 2018
2 minute read

As much as we don’t like to admit, we Indians love to see our country get some kind of recognition anywhere on this little planet. It can be something as small as seeing a group of talented VFX artists during the end credits of a Marvel movie. Or it can be something as defining as a scientist discovering a planet. And if you’re one of those who’re delighted by these achievements, the latest geological recognition will certainly light up your day.

According to BBC, the most distinct age in the history of the one and only, Earth, has been named after the Northeastern state of India, Meghalaya.

International geologists have said that the last 4200 years has been a distinct age in the story of our planet. They’ve decided it to call it the Meghalayan Age. According to them, the onset of this age was marked by a mega-drought that brought an end to a number of civilisations worldwide. Well, that’s a bit grim.

So, if you’re a geology student and there’s an older version of this chart in your class, get it changed because the Meghalayan Age needs some representation. Now, fair warning that there’s a bit of a debate among scientists that if it’s too early to define a period of our world’s history in this way. But until there are any further changes, we’re in the Meghalayan Age.

If your knowledge on Earth’s period is limited to B.C. and A.D., welcome to a free science class where you’ll get to know how exactly did this age get the name of the Meghalayan Age.

Setting all religious and Scientology based beliefs aside, Earth is officially 4.6 billion years old. So, in order to understand what happened in which period of history, this time is divided into slices. Considering how the International Commission of Stratigraphy is the keeper of geological time, they proposed three stages to denote the epoch’s upper, middle and lower phases.

In order to win a classification, a slice of geological time has to reflect something whose effects were global in extent and associated with a rock or sediment type. Since there was such a spike 4200 years ago, whose proof has been found in the layers of a stalagmite in Mawmluh Cave of Meghalaya, this age was named the Meghalayan Age.

Stanley Finney, professor of geological sciences, said that the Meghalayan Age is unique because its beginning coincides with a global cultural event produced by a global climatic event. Which in layman’s terms mean that we’ve been through the some rough times and can call ourselves the Meghalayans. That’s got a nice ring to it, right?

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