The Cenozoic Era, which began about 65 million years ago and continues into the present, is the third documented era in the history of Earth. The current locations of the continents and their modern-day inhabitants, including humans, can be traced to this period.
The era began on a big down note, catching the tail end of the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event at the close of the Cretaceous Period that wiped out the remaining non-avian dinosaurs.
The term Cenozoic, first spelled "Kainozoic," was originally used in an 1840 entry in the Penny Cyclopedia encyclopedia in an article written by British geologist John Phillips. The name is derived from the Greek phrase meaning “recent life.”
The Cenozoic Era is divided into three periods:
Paleogene Period (65-23 million years ago), which consists of the Paleocene, Eocene and Oligocene epochs);
Neogene Period (23-2.6 million years ago), which includes the Miocene and Pliocene epochs);
Quaternary Period (2.6 million years ago to the present), consisting the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs). While it is widely accepted that we are still in the Holocene Epoch, some scientists argue that we have entered the Anthropocene Epoch. In a 2010 article in the scientific journal Environmental Science & Technology, scientists made the case for a new epoch, blaming humans for causing a drastic shift in conditions.
The era began on a big down note, catching the tail end of the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event at the close of the Cretaceous Period that wiped out the remaining non-avian dinosaurs.
The term Cenozoic, first spelled "Kainozoic," was originally used in an 1840 entry in the Penny Cyclopedia encyclopedia in an article written by British geologist John Phillips. The name is derived from the Greek phrase meaning “recent life.”
The Cenozoic Era is divided into three periods:
Paleogene Period (65-23 million years ago), which consists of the Paleocene, Eocene and Oligocene epochs);
Neogene Period (23-2.6 million years ago), which includes the Miocene and Pliocene epochs);
Quaternary Period (2.6 million years ago to the present), consisting the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs). While it is widely accepted that we are still in the Holocene Epoch, some scientists argue that we have entered the Anthropocene Epoch. In a 2010 article in the scientific journal Environmental Science & Technology, scientists made the case for a new epoch, blaming humans for causing a drastic shift in conditions.
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