Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science

Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science, Third Edition, Five Volume Set, brings together the multidisciplinary expertise needed to understand the history of humans, life, environmental and climate change, and understand what we may expect over the coming decades. Quaternary Science comprises studies of the physical and biological world during the time of continental glaciations in the last 2.6 million years. This interval is critical to our understanding of the modern world, as the current flora, fauna, and physical environment have been shaped by events in the Quaternary. The Quaternary is the only geological period with one foot in the past and one foot in the present. Since publication of the previous edition, our understanding of many topics has been revolutionized by new discoveries and new techniques. The development of ancient DNA studies, for example, has revolutionized our thinking about the origins, dispersal, and population dynamics of our ancestors. Every new aDNA analysis from ancient human remains causes the story to become more complex. We are the sole survivors of the genus Homo, yet we harbor genetic fragments from other closely related but long-extinct lineages. The Quaternary is uniquely situated as a laboratory in which to study the shaping of the modern world, including biotic responses to large-scale environmental change. This new edition of Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science is the most comprehensive account of state-of-the-art research in the field.