By kenna Lamm
The entire Quaternary Period, including the present, is referred to as an ice age due to the presence of at least one permanent ice sheet (Antarctica).
These steppes supported enormous herbivores such as mammoth, mastodon, giant bison and woolly rhinoceros, which were well adapted to the cold. These animals were preyed upon by equally large carnivores such as saber toothed cats, cave bears and direwolves.
The latest glacial retreat began the Holocene Epoch. In Europe and North America the mammoth steppes were largely replaced by forest. This change in climate and food resources began the extinction of the largest herbivores and their predators. However climate change was not the only factor in their demise; a new predator was making itself known.
Things you will need if you go to the Quaternary time period
We are still is the Quaternary, so in addition to those dangers we face today, visits to earlier Quaternary years would include the challenges of periods of glaciation, an abundance of large animal predators, and competition from at least one other humanoid specie. As a traveler, you'd be best prepared by bringing warm clothes, firearms, and ammunition.
Ascent of man
Homo erectus was the first hominid species to widely use fire. There are two hypotheses about the species’ origin. The first hypothesis is that the species originated in Africa and later dispersed throughout Eurasia, able to exploit the colder regions with the use of fire and tools. The second hypothesis is that Homo erectus migrated to Africa from Eurasia. Excavations in Dmanisi, Republic of Georgia, have uncovered fossil evidence that H. erectus was a successful hunter.
Homo neanderthalensis existed from about 200,000 years ago to about 30,000 years ago. Fossil evidence has shown that the species lived in much of western Europe including southern Great Britain, throughout central Europe and the Ukraine and as far south as Gibraltar and the Levant. Neanderthal fossils have not been found in Africa. Neanderthalswere shorter and stockier than modern humans with longer, stronger hands and arms. Neanderthals lived in shelters, made and wore clothing, and used diverse tools made of stone and bone.Climate conditions required a diet heavy in animal protein so they were sophisticated hunters, although a recent discovery indicates they also cooked and ate plant materials. Recent finds also prove that they deliberately buried their dead and made ornamental or symbolic objects. No earlier hominid species has been shown to practice behaviors that indicate some use of language.
Even though there are major climatic differences between the Pleistocene and the Holocene epoch, much of the plant life didn't change. The Pleistocene era had two major climate conditions: the glacial and the interglacial. During the glacial period, most of the land was covered by ice, and vegetation was mostly tundra which included mosses, sedges, shrubs, lichens and low-lying grasses; however.During interglacial periods, or the time when most of the soil was not covered by ice, woodlands and coniferous forests existed. The emergence of tropical rainforests occurred during the start of the Holocene. This habitat allowed many animals and plants to thrive and evolve. Coniferous and deciduous forests thrived during this period, as well as savannas, where herbivores grazed and flourished
What you may find at the Quaternary time period
Questions about the age of the Earth, and when major events occured surround our interest in Evolution, and the development of life on Earth. Geologist and Paleontologist have developed methods for placing more and more precise numbers on our timeframe. Still, the basic listing and arrangement of the eras of Earth's history was developed long before we could say that this event took place 200 million years ago (mya), or 70 mya