Quaternary period

E33564

geologic period

The Quaternary period is the most recent division of geologic time, characterized by repeated ice ages, the evolution and global spread of modern humans, and significant climatic fluctuations over the last 2.6 million years.

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All labels observed (6)

Label	Occurrences
Quaternary	33
Quaternary period canonical	13
Quaternary Period	6
Pleistocene to Holocene	3
Quaternary stratigraphy	2
Quaternary glaciation	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T252486 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Quaternary period
Context triple: [Pliocene epoch, precedes, Quaternary period]

A. Pleistocene epoch
The Pleistocene epoch was a geological time period characterized by repeated ice ages, widespread glaciation, and the evolution and global spread of modern humans.
B. Cenozoic
The Cenozoic is the current geological era, beginning about 66 million years ago, characterized by the rise and diversification of mammals and birds and the formation of many modern mountain ranges and continents.
C. Holocene
The Holocene is the current geological epoch, beginning around 11,700 years ago, characterized by relatively stable climate conditions and the development of human civilizations.
D. Pliocene epoch
The Pliocene epoch was a geological time period roughly 5.3 to 2.6 million years ago marked by cooler global climates, the expansion of grasslands, and significant evolutionary developments among mammals and early hominins.
E. Paleogene
The Paleogene is a geologic period that marks the beginning of the Cenozoic Era, characterized by the diversification of mammals and birds following the mass extinction that ended the age of dinosaurs.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Quaternary period
Target entity description: The Quaternary period is the most recent division of geologic time, characterized by repeated ice ages, the evolution and global spread of modern humans, and significant climatic fluctuations over the last 2.6 million years.

A. Pleistocene epoch
The Pleistocene epoch was a geological time period characterized by repeated ice ages, widespread glaciation, and the evolution and global spread of modern humans.
B. Cenozoic
The Cenozoic is the current geological era, beginning about 66 million years ago, characterized by the rise and diversification of mammals and birds and the formation of many modern mountain ranges and continents.
C. Holocene
The Holocene is the current geological epoch, beginning around 11,700 years ago, characterized by relatively stable climate conditions and the development of human civilizations.
D. Pliocene epoch
The Pliocene epoch was a geological time period roughly 5.3 to 2.6 million years ago marked by cooler global climates, the expansion of grasslands, and significant evolutionary developments among mammals and early hominins.
E. Paleogene
The Paleogene is a geologic period that marks the beginning of the Cenozoic Era, characterized by the diversification of mammals and birds following the mass extinction that ended the age of dinosaurs.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (51)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	geologic period ⓘ
associatedWith	Antarctic ice sheet expansion ⓘ Northern Hemisphere ice sheets ⓘ formation of modern river systems ⓘ human-induced environmental change in late Holocene ⓘ loess deposition ⓘ permafrost development ⓘ
baseDefinedBy	Gauss–Matuyama geomagnetic reversal ⓘ marine isotope stage 103 ⓘ
characterizedBy	development of modern ecosystems ⓘ evolution of Homo sapiens ⓘ global climatic fluctuations ⓘ global spread of modern humans ⓘ major ice ages ⓘ megafaunal extinctions ⓘ orbital forcing of climate ⓘ repeated glacial–interglacial cycles ⓘ sea level fluctuations ⓘ
climateDriver	Milankovitch cycles ⓘ greenhouse gas concentration changes ⓘ ice sheet dynamics ⓘ
contains	Holocene climatic optimum ⓘ Last Glacial Maximum ⓘ Pleistocene epoch ⓘ surface form: Last Interglacial (Eemian) Little Ice Age ⓘ Younger Dryas cold event ⓘ current interglacial ⓘ
definedBy	International Commission on Stratigraphy ⓘ
duration	about 2.58 million years ⓘ
endTime	present ⓘ
follows	Neogene ⓘ surface form: Neogene period
hasEpoch	Holocene ⓘ surface form: Holocene epoch Pleistocene epoch ⓘ
includesTaxonEvent	Denisovan extinction ⓘ Late Quaternary megafaunal extinction ⓘ Neanderthal extinction ⓘ domestication of plants and animals ⓘ emergence of genus Homo ⓘ evolution of anatomically modern humans ⓘ rise of human civilizations ⓘ
partOf	Cenozoic ⓘ surface form: Cenozoic Era
precedes	Holocene ⓘ surface form: Holocene epoch
startTime	Pleistocene epoch onset ⓘ approximately 2.58 million years ago ⓘ
stratotypeSection	Vrica section, Calabria, Italy ⓘ
subdividedInto	Holocene ⓘ surface form: Early Holocene Pleistocene epoch ⓘ surface form: Early Pleistocene Holocene ⓘ surface form: Late Holocene Pleistocene epoch ⓘ surface form: Late Pleistocene Holocene climatic optimum ⓘ surface form: Middle Holocene Pleistocene epoch ⓘ surface form: Middle Pleistocene