Pleistocene
Mammoth's geological era
The Pleistocene is a geological epoch spanning roughly 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago, characterized by repeated glacial cycles and the evolution of modern humans.
Ice sheets advanced and retreated across continents, and megafauna like mammoths and saber-toothed cats roamed the earth.
Pleistocene fossils reveal a world of giants.
The epoch ended as the last ice age waned.
Last 2.6 million years
Thick glacial landmass covering
- glacierSlow-moving ice mass
- moraineGlacier-deposited debris pile
- permafrostPerpetually frozen earth layer
- tundraFrigid treeless biome
till · outwash · cirque · drumlin · esker · fjord · crevasse · ablation
Preserved ancient organism traces
- stratigraphyStudy of rock layers
- sedimentsParticles that settle below
- paleoclimatologyStudy of prehistoric climates
- paleoecologyStudy of prehistoric ecosystems
carbon dating · oxygen isotopes · lake sediments · excavation · reconstruction
Extinct elephant with curved tusks
- mastodonExtinct elephantine Pleistocene mammal
- saber-toothed catExtinct long-fanged felid
- woolly rhinocerosExtinct furry horned herbivore
- giant slothExtinct oversized tree-stripper
dire wolf · cave bear · aurochs · glyptodon · woolly · tusks · extinction · megaherbivore
Extinct archaic human species
- Homo erectusExtinct bipedal human ancestor
- AustralopithecusExtinct hominin genus
- Homo heidelbergensisPrehistoric human species, mid-Pleistocene
- stone toolsShaped rocks for tasks
handaxe · hearths · flintknapping · cave art · bipedalism
Quaternary
Last 2.6 million years
ice sheet
Thick glacial landmass covering
- glacierSlow-moving ice mass
- moraineGlacier-deposited debris pile
- permafrostPerpetually frozen earth layer
tundra · till · outwash · cirque · drumlin · esker · fjord · crevasse · ablation · firn
fossils
Preserved ancient organism traces
- stratigraphyStudy of rock layers
- sedimentsParticles that settle below
- paleoclimatologyStudy of prehistoric climates
paleoecology · carbon dating · oxygen isotopes · lake sediments · excavation · reconstruction
mammoth
Extinct elephant with curved tusks
- mastodonExtinct elephantine Pleistocene mammal
- saber-toothed catExtinct long-fanged felid
- woolly rhinocerosExtinct furry horned herbivore
giant sloth · dire wolf · cave bear · aurochs · glyptodon · woolly · tusks · extinction · megaherbivore
Neanderthal
Extinct archaic human species
- Homo erectusExtinct bipedal human ancestor
- AustralopithecusExtinct hominin genus
- Homo heidelbergensisPrehistoric human species, mid-Pleistocene
stone tools · handaxe · hearths · flintknapping · cave art · bipedalism
- climateclimate change, climate, weather, global warming, temperature
- Ice Ageice age, mammoths, saber-tooth cat, mammoth, woolly mammoth
- erasera, epoch, age, bronze age, period
- geologic timeeons, eon, epochs, era, epoch
- glaciersglacier, crevasse, glacial movement, moraine, iceberg
- paleontologydinosaurs, fossil, paleontology, fossil record, dinosaur bones
PleistoceneHolocene
Current geological epoch
Anthropocene · modern era · Precambrian · Archean · Carboniferous