Pleistocene Epoch Essay
The Pleistocene epoch is the period that began 2.6 million years ago and lasted till about 11,700 years ago. The last ice age occurred there with glaciers covering large parts of the world There were five ice ages that occurred during the time since Earth's creation and probably many more before humans. The Pleistocene Epoch is the first time that Homo sapiens evolved into being at the end of the era the Epoch Humans could be found all around the earth the Pleistocene Epoch was the first epoch in the Quaternary period and the sixth in the Cenozoic Era It was followed be the Holocene Epoch.
At the time of the Pleistocene the continents moved to their current positions. During this time sheets of ice covered all of Antarctica, large parts of …show more content…
During this time British geologist Edward Forbes Aligned the period with other known ice ages. In 2009 the international Union of Geological Sciences Established the start of the pleistocene Epoch at 2.588 million years before the present day.
While scientist have yet to find the cause of a epoch they believe that ocean currents, composition of the atmosphere, and changes of the position of the earth to the sun to be leading causes or so they think. The overall climate during this time was much colder than today's. During peak periods where most of the water would be frozen global averages would be around 9-18 degrees fahrenheit below todays normal temperature even summers did not completely melt the snow.
With Homo sapiens evolving many large mammals succumbed to the harsh climate conditions of this period. One of the best places to find information on this era is the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles where remains of just about anything from this era can be found even human remains at times. Many creatures thrived during this era including the woolly mammoth and other mammals such as the saber toothed cats and the giant ground sloths. Even though many mammals went extinct during this time there were some that survived and that you could even find today such as apes, cattle, deer, rabbits, kangaroos, wallabies, bears and many of the canine and feline
At the time of the Pleistocene the continents moved to their current positions. During this time sheets of ice covered all of Antarctica, large parts of …show more content…
During this time British geologist Edward Forbes Aligned the period with other known ice ages. In 2009 the international Union of Geological Sciences Established the start of the pleistocene Epoch at 2.588 million years before the present day.
While scientist have yet to find the cause of a epoch they believe that ocean currents, composition of the atmosphere, and changes of the position of the earth to the sun to be leading causes or so they think. The overall climate during this time was much colder than today's. During peak periods where most of the water would be frozen global averages would be around 9-18 degrees fahrenheit below todays normal temperature even summers did not completely melt the snow.
With Homo sapiens evolving many large mammals succumbed to the harsh climate conditions of this period. One of the best places to find information on this era is the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles where remains of just about anything from this era can be found even human remains at times. Many creatures thrived during this era including the woolly mammoth and other mammals such as the saber toothed cats and the giant ground sloths. Even though many mammals went extinct during this time there were some that survived and that you could even find today such as apes, cattle, deer, rabbits, kangaroos, wallabies, bears and many of the canine and feline