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LITHOEN

Geological time unit

Quaternary

The current period, beginning 2.58 million years ago; it comprises the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs.

Classification

rank
period

How this record is known

1
Settled consensus
Cited as the accepted position of the discipline.

1 of 1 claims on this page cite at least one registered source. Counts describe how each statement is known, not how likely it is to be true.

What Lithoen records

Each claim states how it is known and cites its evidence.

Established2.58–0 Ma before present

On the International Chronostratigraphic Chart (v2024/12), the Quaternary spans 2.58 to 0.0 million years before present.

Not stated verbatim by the source — derived: base 2.58 Ma -> top = present = 0 Ma

The chart gives the base of the Quaternary and marks the top of the column "present". The span therefore runs from the chart’s boundary age to zero; zero is the chart’s present, not a measured boundary.

  • definition basis: International Chronostratigraphic Chart v2024/12; the chronostratigraphic counterpart of the Quaternary is the Quaternary System.
  • precision note: The chart states that numerical ages are subject to ongoing revision and do not define units; GSSPs do.

Evidence support: Derived from the cited evidence one source

Evidence: Cohen 2024 Primary authority

In the knowledge graph

Record last updated 2026-09-06. Corrections follow the published corrections policy; superseded claims are retained, never silently edited.