In this session recorded during Unearthing the Present, participants explore the accelerating processes and cumulative events of species extinction through examining the recent biotic changes recorded in the sediments of the San Francisco Bay. In the face of the sixth mass extinction, the cultural foundations of archiving, preserving and memorizing find expression in the conservation of genetic information for species, in resurrection biology and in de-extinction methods. To what degree can we know the scope and pace of current species extinction? Are we even capable of grasping the irreversibility of biological extinction? How do extinction events inform our understanding of life and species in general?