Pleistocene: Greek Origins

The word Pleistocene is of Greek origin. Pleistos means most and Kainos means recent. The word origin and history for Pleistocene pertains to the glacial period. This period starting about 2 million years ago and ending about 10,000 years ago spanned two epochs of the Quaternary Period. The first Epoch, the Pleistocene was defined by the formation glaciers spanning the Northern Hemisphere and by the appearance of humans. During this time frame almost every giant mammal had disappeared such as the woolly mammoths, giant wolves, giant ground sloths and wombats. These creatures were called megafauna. The smaller animals also became extinct such as the saber tooth tigers, horses, mammoths and mastodons. These animals once roamed Australia,

The earth was covered with extensive polar and mountainous sheets of ice. So much water was taken up with ice that the global sea level dropped almost 140 meters. This time in earth’s history would be considered a glacial period. Oceanic circulation, solar energy fluctuations, continental positions and earth 's orbital cycle caused these conditions. Glacial global temperature changes between the ice ages and interglacial periods were due to the concentration of greenhouse gases. Another name given would be called an ice age. The earth also experienced then warmer interglacial periods. When this occurred, flooding happened. Pleistocene creatures had to move to new environments and adapt to their new surroundings or they would go extinct. Each continent suffered a unique extinction that could be related to global pattern.

Humans arrival and when species made their last appearance can be explored and determined in the fossils and artifacts that have been discovered. Timelines can be narrowed down. This is presently going on in South America. The question is whether or not humans are to blame for animal extinction. Humans may have hunted animals for food, shelter and clothing. Humans may have used fire which could have altered the landscape by uncontrolled

The Pleistocene Epoch was the first epoch in the Quaternary Period and the sixth in the Cenozoic Era. It was followed by the Holocene Epoch, which is the current period we are in now. Another name is the Anthropocene Epoch, defined by global changes caused by humans. The Holocene Epoch began at the end of the Paleolithic ice age about 12,000 years ago and continues today. As earth entered a warming trend, mammals which were used to the cold could not survive but became extinct when glaciers retreated. Tundra gave way to lush thick forests and the animals who were once used to the cold climate could not adapt like the mammoth and the wooly rhinoceros. Humans who once hunted these animals now has to switch to smaller animals and then start to rely on gathering plants for food.

The earth is currently in an interglacial period. What remains of the continental ice sheets are located in Greenland and Antarctic. Pleistocene fossils are abundant, and are very well preserved. This is very good for the many paleontologists who study fossils. They study the many plant, animal and rock fossils in order to understand the climates of the past and hope that this information can help make understanding the possible effects of earth’s future, our future. Who knows what the next 10,000 years will bring what the Epoch will be