EUROPE/Holocene 159 Table Continued Calendar years BP Environmental Period General climatic features Selected historical events Ancylus Lake Short lived cold interval, drop of the mean annual temperature by 2 C 8200 Stages of the Baltic Sea’s development First Neolithic agricultural societies in South eastern Europe and Greece Freshwater 8400 8600 8800 9000 Slightly warmer and moister than today Atlantic Boreal The English Channel separates the British Isles from the continent Hunter and gatherer societies Cold phase in the Carpathian Basin 9200 During summers generally warmer than today, mainly open winters Maglemose culture in northern Europe 9400 Azilian culture in western Europe 9600 Microliths become common 9800 Use of log boats is proven 10000 10200 Boreal Preboreal Nomadic hunters arrive in England 10400 Ahrensburg culture in northern Germany Freshwater 10600 Summers as warm as today, but very cold winters 10800 Ancylus Lake Yoldia Sea Freshwater Regionally brackish 11000 11200 11400 11600 11800 12000 Preboreal Younger Dryas Quick warming Bromme culture in Denmark Beginning of the Holocene End of the Pleistocene Mesolithic Palaeolithic Cold period, mean annual temperatures by 9 C lower than today mankind is desirable Closed production cycles might be one of the important targets to achieve this Actualism in a New Context The special character of the Holocene as a period which is not only part of the geological past but also an interface with the future, gives the principle of actualism a new dimension In addition to regarding Freshwater Yoldia Sea Baltic Ice Lake Freshwater the present as being the key to the past, past and present times might be regarded as a key to the future Predictions of future developments become more and more important to cope with possible changes in the natural environment For this purpose, detailed knowledge about similar processes in the past is indispensable In order to calibrate proxies from the geological record, it is necessary to analyse recent proxies by comparison with older ones, and also the