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The geologic time scale or geological time scale (GTS) is a representation of time based on the rock record of Earth. It is a system of chronological dating that uses chronostratigraphy (the process of relating strata to time) and geochronology (a scientific branch of geology that aims to determine the age of rocks).
Geologic time shown in a diagram called a geological clock, showing the relative lengths of the eons of Earth's history and noting major events The geological history of Earth follows the major geological events in Earth's past based on the geologic time scale , a system of chronological measurement based on the study of the planet's rock ...
Geologic Time – Period prior to humans. 4.6 billion to 3 million years ago. (See "prehistoric periods" for more detail into this.) Primatomorphid Era – Period prior to the existence of Primatomorpha; Simian Era – Period prior to the existence of Simiiformes; Hominoid Era – Period prior to the existence of Hominoidea
The science of geochronology is the prime tool used in the discipline of chronostratigraphy, which attempts to derive absolute age dates for all fossil assemblages and determine the geologic history of the Earth and extraterrestrial bodies.
The Mesozoic Era [3] is the era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods.It is characterized by the dominance of archosaurian reptiles such as the dinosaurs, and of gymnosperms such as cycads, ginkgoaceae and araucarian conifers; a hot greenhouse climate; and the tectonic break-up of Pangaea.
The term geon (for geological eon) refers to large, geologic units of time. Geologists traditionally subdivide Earth history into a hierarchy of named intervals: eons, eras, periods, etc. (e.g., the Jurassic Period of the Mesozoic Era). Historians subdivide the history of human activity into intervals that are comparatively much shorter.
Geologic time is the timescale used to calculate dates in the planet's geologic history from its origin (currently estimated to have been some 4,600 million years ago) to the present day. Radiometric dating measures the steady decay of radioactive elements in an object to determine its age. It is used to calculate dates for the older part of ...
The Cenozoic Era (/ ˌ s iː n ə ˈ z oʊ. ɪ k, ˌ s ɛ n-/ SEE-nə-ZOH-ik, SEN-ə-; [1] [2] lit. ' new life ') is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66 million years of Earth's history. It is characterized by the dominance of mammals, insects, birds and angiosperms (flowering plants).