Pleistocene

The Pleistocene epoch is often referred to as the “Ice Age” due to the repeated expansion of glaciers during this time. These glaciations were interspersed with warmer interglacial periods when the glaciers retreated. The Pleistocene glaciations had a significant impact on global sea levels, which fluctuated by as much as 120 meters. During glacial periods, sea levels dropped, exposing land bridges like the Bering Land Bridge, which allowed human and animal migrations between continents.

Human evolution advanced significantly during the Pleistocene. Early in the epoch, species like Homo habilis and Homo erectus lived in Africa and began using stone tools. Later, Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens emerged. Modern humans spread out of Africa during the Pleistocene, eventually reaching all inhabited continents.

The end of the Pleistocene coincided with the extinction of many large Ice Age mammals, including mammoths, mastodons, woolly rhinoceroses, and saber-toothed cats. While climate change played a significant role in these extinctions, human hunting and habitat destruction may have contributed as well.