Pleistocene

[ plahy-stuh-seen ]

adjective

1. 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

1. the Pleistocene Epoch or Series.

Pleistocene

/ ˈplaɪstəˌsiːn /

adjective

1. 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

1. the Pleistocene
   the Pleistocene epoch or rock series

Pleistocene

/ plī′stə-sēn′ /

1. 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.
2. See Chart at geologic time

Other Words From

• post-Pleisto·cene adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Pleistocene¹

First recorded in 1830–40; from Greek pleîsto(s) “most” (superlative of polýs “much”) + -cene

Word History and Origins

Origin of Pleistocene¹

C19: from Greek pleistos most + kainos recent

Example Sentences

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 Salon

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 Salon

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 Science Daily

There were 61 species of large terrestrial herbivores -- weighing more than one tonne -- alive in the late Pleistocene, and only eight of these exist today.

From Science Daily

Most scientists believed the woolly rhinoceros succumbed to a warming climate at the end of the Pleistocene era about 12,000 years ago.

From Science Magazine