Question

Genus Homo was identified during ______ epoch.
A) Eocene
B) Palaeocene
C) Oligocene
D) Pleistocene

Answer 1

The evolution is the changes that are made by the organisms due to change in environment, temperature, and migration. In the very beginning of the origin of Earth it does not look as it is today there are many different primitive organisms who were extinct due to mass extinction of some eras.

Complete answer:
To answer this question, we have to know about the epoch. Epoch is the time period or chronology of a specific calendar era. It is the moment or date that is mainly defined from a particular event of change or epoch event. In evolution, the epoch is classified into Eocene, Palaeocene, Oligocene, and Pleistocene. The Eocene epoch is related to the tertiary period between the Paleocene and Oligocene epochs. This period lasted for 56.5 to 25.4 million years ago. It is considered as the time of temperature rising and present with an abundance of mammals like bats, horses, and whales. The Palaeocene epoch is the period’s starts just after the extinction of dinosaurs. In this epoch the climate is warmer, in this era Europe and North America were connected. The Oligocene epoch was the third epoch of the Paleogene period, in this era there is a global expansion of grasslands that take place and in the equatorial belt a tropical broadleaf forest has formed.

Now, the Pleistocene saw the expansion and evolution of Homo sapiens and by the close of the Pleistocene the humans are spread throughout the world. According to a theory proposed in the 1960s, human hunting around the close of the Pleistocene contributed to the extinction of various other mammals that are found in the Pleistocene. The extinction of many animals in many continents is somehow correlated with the arrival of humans but this fact raises many questions like the number of humans; whether they are sufficiently numerous enough to wipe out so many species. There is a hypothesis that states that may be some disease wipes out the species after the Pleistocene. The real reason behind the Pleistocene extinction is a combination of these factors as the real reason remains unsolved. So, the genus Homo was identified in the Pleistocene epoch.

Thus, the correct answer is option ‘D’. Pleistocene.
Note: The Pleistocene epoch was ended 11,700 years ago. It is proceeding by the Pliocene epoch of the Neogene period and followed by the Holocene epoch. We are at present living in the Holocene Epoch that initiated about 15,000 years ago.