quartärer

The Quartärer, in geology the Quaternary, is the most recent major division of the Cenozoic Era, spanning roughly 2.58 million years ago to the present. The term is used in many languages, including German where it is Quartär. The period is characterized by pronounced climate variability, including repeated advances and retreats of ice sheets, and by important developments in fauna, flora and human evolution.

It comprises two epochs: the Pleistocene (approximately 2.58 million to 11,700 years ago) and the Holocene (11,700 years ago to the present). The boundary between them marks the end of the last major ice age and a shift toward a warmer, more stable climate. The Quaternary is defined by widespread geological and paleontological records from many parts of the world.

During the Pleistocene, continental ice sheets shaped landscapes and biogeography, with many large mammals and changing sea levels. The Holocene has seen the rise of agriculture, cities and modern ecosystems, along with ongoing climate fluctuations and environmental change driven increasingly by human activity.

Some scientists advocate adding a formal subdivision named the Anthropocene within the Quaternary to reflect substantial human impact on the atmosphere, biosphere and geology. At present, the Anthropocene is not recognized as an official epoch by the International Commission on Stratigraphy, but it is widely discussed in scientific and popular literature. The Quartärer remains a foundational framework for late Cenozoic climate, life and human history.