Quaternary
Current geological period
The Quaternary is the current and most recent geological period, spanning roughly the last 2.6 million years.
It encompasses the ice ages and the entire existence of modern humans.
Geologists divide it into the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs: Quaternary glaciation shaped the Great Lakes. (Lowercase quaternary means fourth in sequence or consisting of four parts.)
Ancient glacial geological period
- HoloceneCurrent geological epoch
- glaciationIce sheet spreading process
- interglacialEpoch between major freezes
- ice ageEra of massive glaciation
megafauna · mammoths · paleoclimate · stratigraphy · sedimentology · loess · alluvium · fluvial
Scientific name for humans
- NeanderthalsExtinct European hominins
- hominidsHuman-like primate family
- Cro-MagnonEarly modern European human
- bipedalismWalking on two limbs
migration · hunter-gatherers · stone tools · toolmaking · cave paintings · language development · cultural evolution · domestication
Species over 44 kilograms
- mammothsExtinct woolly elephants
- mastodonsExtinct elephant-like mammals
- woolly rhinocerosExtinct furry horned herbivore
- dire wolvesExtinct large wolf species
fossils · extinctions · fossil records · paleoecology · tar pits · paleobotany · moa · aurochs
Study of rock layers
- sedimentsParticles that settle below
- depositsMaterial settled or stored
- alluviumWater-deposited loose sediment
- loessWind-deposited silt layer
fluvial · moraines · terraces · outwash · strata · unconformity
Extended global cooling epochs
- glacial cyclesRepeating planetary cooling periods
- Milankovitch cyclesOrbital shifts affecting climate
- paleoclimatologyStudy of prehistoric climates
- ice coresCylindrical glacier samples
oxygen isotopes · albedo · feedback loops · Heinrich events · Younger Dryas · sea level · carbon dioxide · methane
Pleistocene
Ancient glacial geological period
- HoloceneCurrent geological epoch
- glaciationIce sheet spreading process
- interglacialEpoch between major freezes
ice age · megafauna · mammoths · paleoclimate · stratigraphy · sedimentology · loess · alluvium · fluvial · ice sheets
Homo sapiens
Scientific name for humans
- NeanderthalsExtinct European hominins
- hominidsHuman-like primate family
- Cro-MagnonEarly modern European human
bipedalism · migration · hunter-gatherers · stone tools · toolmaking · cave paintings · language development · cultural evolution · domestication · agriculture
megafauna
Species over 44 kilograms
- mammothsExtinct woolly elephants
- mastodonsExtinct elephant-like mammals
- woolly rhinocerosExtinct furry horned herbivore
dire wolves · fossils · extinctions · fossil records · paleoecology · tar pits · paleobotany · moa · aurochs
stratigraphy
Study of rock layers
- sedimentsParticles that settle below
- depositsMaterial settled or stored
- alluviumWater-deposited loose sediment
loess · fluvial · moraines · terraces · outwash · strata · unconformity
ice ages
Extended global cooling epochs
- glacial cyclesRepeating planetary cooling periods
- Milankovitch cyclesOrbital shifts affecting climate
- paleoclimatologyStudy of prehistoric climates
ice cores · oxygen isotopes · albedo · feedback loops · Heinrich events · Younger Dryas · sea level · carbon dioxide · methane
- Ice Ageice age, mammoths, saber-tooth cat, mammoth, woolly mammoth
- Earth historyice age, geological time, extinction, eons, fossil
- geologic historyCambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous
- geologic timeeons, eon, epochs, era, epoch
- CenozoicPaleocene, Miocene, Pliocene, Pleistocene, Holocene
- Geochronologygeologic time, geologic time scale, time scale, timescale, deep time
QuaternaryPrecambrian
Earliest geological eon
Archean · Proterozoic · Paleozoic · Cambrian · Carboniferous