The last geological and current Quaternary was highlighted in 1829 by the scientist Jules Denoir. In Russia, it is also called anthropogenic. The author of this name in 1922 was the geologist Alexei Pavlov. With his initiative, he wanted to emphasize that this particular period is associated with the appearance of a person.
Period uniqueness
Compared to other geological periods, the Quaternary period has an extremely short duration (1.65 million years in total). Continuing today, it remains incomplete. Another feature is the presence of residues of human culture in Quaternary sediments. This period is characterized by repeated and abrupt climatic changes that cardinally influenced natural conditions.
Periodically repeated cooling led to glaciation of the northern latitudes and moistening of the low latitudes. Warming caused exactly the opposite effect. Sedimentary formations of the last millennia are distinguished by the complex structure of the section, the relative short duration of the formation and the diversity of the layers. The Quaternary period is divided into two eras (or divisions): the Pleistocene and the Holocene. The border between them lies at the mark of 12 thousand years ago.
Migrations of flora and fauna
From the very beginning, the Quaternary period was characterized by a close to the modern flora and fauna. Changes in this fund depended entirely on a series of cooling and warming. With the onset of glaciation, cold-loving species migrated south and mixed with strangers. In periods of increasing average temperatures, the reverse process occurred. At this time, the area of settlement of moderately warm, subtropical and tropical flora and fauna greatly expanded. For a while, whole tundra associations of the organic world disappeared.
Flora had to adapt several times to radically changing living conditions. Many cataclysms during this time marked the Quaternary period. Climatic swings led to the impoverishment of broad-leaved and evergreen forms, as well as the expansion of the range of grassy species.
Mammalian evolution
The most noticeable changes in the animal kingdom have affected mammals (especially the ungulates and proboscis of the Northern Hemisphere). In the Pleistocene, due to abrupt climatic jumps, many thermophilic species died out. At the same time, for the same reason, new animals appeared, better adapted to life in harsh natural conditions. The extinction of fauna reached its peak during the Dnieper glaciation (300 - 250 thousand years ago). At the same time, cooling determined the formation of a platform cover in the Quaternary.
At the end of the Pliocene, the south of Eastern Europe was home to mastodons, southern elephants, hipparions, saber-toothed tigers, Etruscan rhinos, etc. Ostriches and hippos lived in the west of the Old World. However, already in the early Pleistocene, the animal world began to radically change. With the onset of the Dnieper glaciation, many thermophilic species moved to the south. In the same direction, the distribution range of the flora shifted. The Cenozoic era (the Quaternary period in particular) tested any form of life for strength.
Quaternary Bestiary
On the southern borders of the glacier, species such as mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, reindeer, musk musk ox, lemmings, and white partridges first appeared for the first time. All of them lived exclusively in cold areas. Cave lions, bears, hyenas, giant rhinos and other heat-loving people who previously lived in these regions became extinct.
A cold climate established in the Caucasus, in the Alps, Carpathians and Pyrenees, which forced many species to leave the highlands and settle in the valleys. Woolly rhinos and mammoths even occupied southern Europe (not to mention the whole of Siberia, from where they came to North America). The relict fauna of Australia, South America, South and Central Africa has survived due to its own isolation from the rest of the world. Mammoths and other animals, well adapted to harsh climate conditions, became extinct at the beginning of the Holocene. It is worth noting that despite numerous glaciations, about 2/3 of the Earth’s surface has never been affected by the ice sheet.
Human development
As mentioned above, the diverse definitions of the Quaternary cannot do without anthropogenic. The rapid development of man is the most important event of this entire historical segment. The place of the most ancient people today is considered to be East Africa.
The ancestral form of modern man is Australopithecus belonging to the hominid family. According to various estimates, they first appeared in Africa 5 million years ago. Gradually Australopithecus became erect and omnivorous. About 2 million years ago, they learned how to make primitive tools. So a skilled man appeared . A million years ago, pithecanthropus formed, the remains of which are found in Germany, Hungary and China.
Neanderthals and modern people
350 thousand years ago, paleoanthropes (or Neanderthals) appeared, extinct 35 thousand years ago. Traces of their activity are found in the southern and temperate latitudes of Europe. Paleoanthropes were replaced by modern people (neoanthropes or homo sapines). They were the first to enter America and Australia, and also colonized numerous islands of several oceans.
Even the earliest neoanthropes were almost no different from today's people. They adapted well and quickly to climatic changes and masterfully learned to process stone. These hominids acquired bone products, primitive musical instruments, objects of fine art, and jewelry.
The Quaternary in the south of Russia left numerous archaeological sites belonging to neoanthropes. However, they also reached the northernmost regions. Cooling people learned to survive with the help of fur clothes and bonfires. Therefore, for example, the Quaternary period of Western Siberia was also marked by the expansion of people trying to develop new territories. 5 thousand years ago the Bronze Age began , 3 thousand years ago - the Iron Age. Then, in Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Mediterranean, centers of ancient civilization arose.
Minerals
Scientists divided into several groups the minerals that the Quaternary period left us. Deposits of the last millennia belong to a variety of placers, non-metallic and combustible materials, and ores of sedimentary origin. Coastal-marine and alluvial deposits are known. The most important Quaternary minerals are: gold, diamonds, platinum, cassiterite, ilmenite, rutile, zircon.
In addition, iron ores of lake and lake-bog origin are of great importance. The same group includes manganese and copper-vanadium deposits. Similar clusters are common in the oceans.
Mineral wealth
Even today, the equatorial and tropical rocks of the Quaternary continue to erode. As a result of this process, laterite is formed. A similar formation is coated with aluminum and iron and is an important African mineral. Metal-bearing crusts of the same latitudes are rich in deposits of nickel, cobalt, copper, manganese, as well as refractory clays.
In the Quaternary period, important non-metallic minerals appeared. These are gravels (they are used everywhere in construction) molding and glass sands, potassium and rock salts, sulfur, borates, peat, and also lignite. The Quaternary deposits contain underground water, which is the main source of clean drinking water. Do not forget about permafrost and ice. In general, the last geological period remains the crown of the geological evolution of the Earth, which began more than 4.5 billion years ago.