Science Fair Project Encyclopedia The Holocene Epoch is a
geologic period that extends from the present back about 10,000
radiocarbon years. The beginning of the Holocene was punctuated
by the Younger Dryas cold period, the final part of Pleistocene
epoch. The end of the Younger Dryas has been dated to about 9600
BC (11550 calendar years BP). However, evidence for the Younger
Dryas is not clear cut anywhere other than in the Northern
Hemisphere. The Holocene starts late in the retreat of the
Pleistocene glaciers. The Holocene is the fourth and last epoch
of the Neogene period (second epoch of the unofficial Quaternary
sub-era). The name is derived from the Greek holos (entire(ly))
and ceno (new). It has also been called the "Alluvium Epoch".
Paleontologists have defined no faunal stages for the
Pleistocene or Holocene. Continental motions are negligible over
a span of only 10,000 years -- less than a kilometer. However,
world sea levels rose about 35 meters (110 feet) in the early
part of the Holocene due to