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Pleistocene Epoch, earlier and major of the two epochs of the Quaternary Period of Earth’s history, an epoch during which a succession of glacial and interglacial climatic cycles occurred. It ended 11,700 years ago. It was preceded by the Pliocene Epoch and followed by the Holocene Epoch.
The Early Pleistocene is an unofficial sub-epoch in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, representing the earliest division of the Pleistocene Epoch within the ongoing Quaternary Period.
During the Early Pleistocene (2.58–0.8 Ma), archaic humans of the genus Homo originated in Africa and spread throughout Afro-Eurasia.
The earliest observations and interpretations of more extensive Pleistocene glaciation were made on such deposits and landforms in the Alps during the early part of the 19th century. Periglacial environments
Pleistocene Epoch, Earlier and longer of the two epochs that constitute the Quaternary Period. The Pleistocene began c. 2.6 million years ago and ended c. 11,700 years ago. It was preceded by the Pliocene Epoch of the Neogene Period and followed by the Holocene Epoch.
The Pleistocene Epoch. This mammoth (right), found in deposits in Russia, was one of the largest land mammals of the Pleistocene, the time period that spanned from 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago.*.
Many paleontologists study Pleistocene fossils in order to understand the climates of the past. The Pleistocene was not only a time during which climates and temperatures shifted dramatically; Pleistocene fossils are often abundant, well-preserved, and can be dated very precisely.
