I've been looking at some recent work from the PAGES 2k Consortium — they compiled a global temperature reconstruction spanning the past 2000 years. While there was a warm period around 950–1250 CE (the Medieval Climate Optimum), the overall trend from 500 BCE to the present shows a gradual cooling, with the most recent warming being unprecedented in rate and magnitude. The cooling trend is especially evident when comparing the Little Ice Age (1350–1850) to the preceding warm periods. The key takeaway is that while natural cycles have driven climate shifts over millennia, the current warming is clearly outside the bounds of historical variability. [PAGES 2k Consortium - https://www.pAGES2k.org]