PLEISTOCENE Definition & Meaning

Pleistocene

[ plahy-stuh-seen ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

noting or pertaining to the epoch forming the earlier half of the Quaternary Period, beginning about two million years ago and ending 10,000 years ago, characterized by widespread glacial ice and the advent of modern humans.

noun

the Pleistocene Epoch or Series.

Pleistocene

/ ˈ��ɪ��əˌ��ː�� /

adjective

of, denoting, or formed in the first epoch of the Quaternary period, which lasted for about 1 600 000 years. It was characterized by extensive glaciations of the N hemisphere and the evolutionary development of man

noun

the Pleistocene
the Pleistocene epoch or rock series

Pleistocene

/ ��ī′��ə-��ŧ��′ /

The earlier of the two epochs of the Quaternary Period, from about 2 million to 10,000 years ago. The Pleistocene Epoch was characterized by the formation of widespread glaciers in the Northern Hemisphere and by the appearance of humans. Mammals included both small forms, such as saber-toothed tigers and horses and giant ones, such as mammoths and mastodons. Almost all the giant mammals, including woolly mammoths, giant wolves, giant ground sloths, and massive wombats disappeared at the end of the Pleistocene and the start of the Holocene.
See Chart at geologic time

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Other �y��vlog Forms

��ǲ��-�ʱ��𾱲�t��·��Ա� adjective

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of Pleistocene¹

First recorded in 1830–40; from Greek ��î��ٴ�(��) “most” (superlative of ��Ǳ�ý�� “much”) + -cene

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of Pleistocene¹

C19: from Greek pleistos most + kainos recent

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

And then, at the end of the Pleistocene Epoch about 12,000 years ago, most of them vanished.

From

Hominins belonging to the species Homo erectus and Paranthropus boisei, the two most common living human species of the Pleistocene Epoch, made the tracks, the researchers said.

From

When I worked on the Hill – only a few years ago, which now seems as remote as the Pleistocene Epoch – the military almost always got its way.

From

During the Pleistocene, Toxodon may have been the most common hoofed mammal in South America, and Darwin was “deeply astonished” at the disappearance of such “great monsters.”

From

Other kinds of complex technologies also developed in the Middle Pleistocene, including wooden structures constructed with logs hewn using hafted tools, which are stone blades affixed to wooden or bone handles.

From

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