Was 1610 the beginning of a new human epoch?

A new study finds the year to be a key point for the Anthropocene - marking the irreversible transfer of crops and species between the old and new worlds

King James was on the throne, Shakespeare's Cymbeline was playing in the theatre and Galileo discovered four moons of Jupiter. In future, though, 1610 could be chiefly remembered as the geological time-point at which humans came to dominate Earth.

Scientists have argued that it is time to draw a line under the current geological epoch and usher in the start of a new one, defined by mankind's impact on the planet.