Late Pleistocene
Encyclopedia
The Late Pleistocene is a stage
of the Pleistocene
Epoch
. The beginning of the stage is defined by the base of the Eemian interglacial
phase before the final glacial episode of the Pleistocene 126,000 ± 5,000 years ago. The end of the stage is defined exactly at 10,000 Carbon-14 years
BP ("before present")
. The stage is followed by the Holocene
.
Much of the Late Pleistocene Epoch was dominated by glaciation (the Wisconsin glaciation
in North America and corresponding glacial periods in Eurasia). Many megafauna
became extinct over this period, a trend that continued into the Holocene
. Also, human species
other than the modern human
died out. Humanity spread to every continent
except for Antarctica during the Late Pleistocene.
North American Land Mammal Ages
within the Late Pleistocene: Rancholabrean
age 0.3 Ma. Upper boundary 0.011 Ma.
Faunal stage
In chronostratigraphy, a stage is a succession of rock strata laid down in a single age on the geologic timescale, which usually represents millions of years of deposition. A given stage of rock and the corresponding age of time will by convention have the same name, and the same boundaries.Rock...
of the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
Epoch
Epoch (geology)
An epoch is a subdivision of the geologic timescale based on rock layering. In order, the higher subdivisions are periods, eras and eons. We are currently living in the Holocene epoch...
. The beginning of the stage is defined by the base of the Eemian interglacial
Eemian interglacial
The Eemian was an interglacial period which began about 130,000 years ago and ended about 114,000 years ago. It was the second-to-latest interglacial period of the current Ice Age, the most recent being the Holocene which extends to the present day. The prevailing Eemian climate is believed to...
phase before the final glacial episode of the Pleistocene 126,000 ± 5,000 years ago. The end of the stage is defined exactly at 10,000 Carbon-14 years
Radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring radioisotope carbon-14 to estimate the age of carbon-bearing materials up to about 58,000 to 62,000 years. Raw, i.e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are usually reported in radiocarbon years "Before Present" ,...
BP ("before present")
Before Present
Before Present years is a time scale used in archaeology, geology, and other scientific disciplines to specify when events in the past occurred. Because the "present" time changes, standard practice is to use AD 1950 as the origin of the age scale, reflecting the fact that radiocarbon...
. The stage is followed by the Holocene
Holocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
.
Much of the Late Pleistocene Epoch was dominated by glaciation (the Wisconsin glaciation
Wisconsin glaciation
The last glacial period was the most recent glacial period within the current ice age occurring during the last years of the Pleistocene, from approximately 110,000 to 10,000 years ago....
in North America and corresponding glacial periods in Eurasia). Many megafauna
Megafauna
In terrestrial zoology, megafauna are "giant", "very large" or "large" animals. The most common thresholds used are or...
became extinct over this period, a trend that continued into the Holocene
Holocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
. Also, human species
Homo (genus)
Homo is the genus that includes modern humans and species closely related to them. The genus is estimated to be about 2.3 to 2.4 million years old, evolving from australopithecine ancestors with the appearance of Homo habilis....
other than the modern human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
died out. Humanity spread to every continent
Continent
A continent is one of several very large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents—they are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.Plate tectonics is...
except for Antarctica during the Late Pleistocene.
Paleoclimatology stages
- Younger DryasYounger DryasThe Younger Dryas stadial, also referred to as the Big Freeze, was a geologically brief period of cold climatic conditions and drought between approximately 12.8 and 11.5 ka BP, or 12,800 and 11,500 years before present...
- AllerødAllerød OscillationThe Allerød period was a warm and moist global interstadial that occurred at the end of the last glacial period. The Allerød oscillation raised temperatures , before they declined again in the succeeding Younger Dryas period, which was followed by the present interglacial period.In some regions,...
- Older DryasOlder DryasThe Older Dryas was a stadial period between the Bølling and Allerød oscillations during the Pleistocene glacial period of ~11,700—12,000 uncalibrated years ago...
- BøllingBølling OscillationThe Bølling oscillation was a warm interstadial period between the Oldest Dryas and Older Dryas stadials, at the end of the last glacial period. It is named after a peat sequence discovered at Bølling lake, central Jutland...
- Oldest DryasOldest DryasThe Oldest Dryas was a climatic period, which occurred during the coldest stadial after the Weichselian glaciation in north Europe. In the Alps, the Oldest Dryas corresponds to the Gschnitz stadial of the Würm glaciation. The three “Dryas” periods are named for a marker species, Dryas octopetala,...
North American Land Mammal Ages
North American Land Mammal Ages
The North American Mammal Ages establishes a geologic timescale for prehistoric North American fauna beginning 66.5 Ma during the Paleocene and continuing through to the Late Pleistocene...
within the Late Pleistocene: Rancholabrean
Rancholabrean
The Rancholabrean North American Stage on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology , typically set from less than 240,000 years to 11,000 years BP, a period of . It is usually considered to overlap the Middle Pleistocene...
age 0.3 Ma. Upper boundary 0.011 Ma.
Further reading
- Ehlers, J., and P.L. Gibbard, 2004a, Quaternary Glaciations: Extent and Chronology 2: Part II North America. Elsevier, Amsterdam. ISBN 0-444-51462-7
- Ehlers, J., and P L. Gibbard, 2004b, Quaternary Glaciations: Extent and Chronology 3: Part III: South America, Asia, Africa, Australia, Antarctica. ISBN 0-444-51593-3
- Gillespie, A.R., S.C. Porter, and B.F. Atwater, 2004, The Quaternary Period in the United States. Developments in Quaternary Science no. 1. Elsevier, Amsterdam. ISBN 978-0-444-51471-4
- Mangerud, J., J. Ehlers, and P. Gibbard, 2004, Quaternary Glaciations : Extent and Chronology 1: Part I Europe. Elsevier, Amsterdam. ISBN 0-444-51462-7
- Sibrava, V., Bowen, D.Q, and Richmond, G.M., 1986, Quaternary Glaciations in the Northern Hemisphere, Quaternary Science Reviews. vol. 5, pp. 1-514.