The Pleistocene is the first epoch of the Quaternary period, between the Pliocene and Holocene epochs, or the system of deposits laid down during it. It lasted from 1.7 million to 10,000 years ago. It is often referred to simply as the Ice Age, a period of repeated glaciations. During the Pleistocene the first primitive humans appear. The end of the Pleistocene marked the end of both the last glacial period, and the end of the Paleolithic. It was followed by the Pliocene epoch.

Bibliography

Dr Ian D’Agata, Native Wine Grape Terroirs (University of California Press, 2019).