Material records of the Anthropocene: a surface-oriented approach

Abstract

This paper discusses new types of naturecultural heritage that have emerged during the Anthropocene. The authors trace and analyze novel records of the ongoing geological event and propose a method of surface-oriented ethnography to investigate heritage in the Anthropocene. We argue that rethinking history in the Anthropocene means to think through new forms of heritage that emerge in the course of ecological processes of decomposition, decay and loss. The case studies analyzed in the article focus on matzevahs colonized by lichens and mosses, and on plasticrusts, a new form of tangible heritage characteristic for the Anthropocene. By investigating these two examples, the paper considers the significance of future heritage for studies in the history of the Anthropocene.

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