The flora and fauna in the regions not covered by ice were essentially the same as those of the earlier Pliocene epoch. In the Americas, large mammals, such as horses, camels, mammoths , mastodons, saber-toothed cats, and ground sloths, are entirely extinct by the end of this epoch. The Holocene Epoch may be an interval between glacial incursions that were typical of the Pleistocene Epoch, and therefore, not a separate epoch in itself. However, it is a period marked by the presence and influence of Homo sapiens . During this time, the glaciers retreat, the climate warms, and deserts form in some areas.
Human civilization develops.
Activities of mankind begin to affect world climates. The extinction of other species continues.