Paper short abstract:

On the basis of case studies I argue, that if the term Anthropocene emphasises human activity as a dominant influence on the environment, it is possible to theorize this current era as anti-Anthropocene from a local perspective, as the local human agency does not impregnate landscape any more.

Paper long abstract:

Based on two case studies I argue, that local communities are leaving Anthropocene era, rather than entering it. The first case study is based on fieldworks carried out in Yakutia between 2002 and 2015. Local Sakha ontology understands landscapes as live entities, very similar to humans. In the last 100 year, this intimate relationship between humans and landscapes deteriorated, and now locals no longer understand the behaviour of landscapes, and they cannot communicate with them. They are left alone. And their human landscape now fades into the unknown wilderness.

Just as in the case of Őrség region in Hungary, where traditional local agriculture and dwelling pattern resulted in a special landscape. Dispersed hamlets created in this region an archipelago of socio-natural domains, where humans and non-humans created a web of relationships. Socio-economic and ecological changes detached local population from their landscapes in the last 80 years, and locals are no longer able to manage their landscapes. Now their voice is increasingly marginal in local discourse about landscape management, tourism and sustainable farming.

Anthropocene is the period when human agency has become an influential geophysical force, hence putting an end to the division between human and nature, On the basis of these two case studies I argue, that if the term Anthropocene emphasises human activity as a dominant influence on the environment, it is possible to theorize this current era as anti-Anthropocene from local perspective, as peripheral communities get increasingly detached from their landscapes. Landscape becomes unknown and unmanageable Nature.