EARTH HISTORY

PREPARED BY:
MELANIE B. BERNALDEZ
 Learning Competencies
explain how relative and absolute
dating were used to determine the
subdivisions of geologic time (S11ES-
IIi-37)
describe how the Earth’s history can
be interpreted from the geologic time
scale. S11/12ES-Ie-29
Learning Objectives
1. track the Earth’s history using the
geologic time scale;
2. identify the different divisions in the
geologic time scale
READING ACTIVITY:
Since the beginning, geologists have been
studying the Earth to unwrap the secrets of
the past. They have been analyzing rock
samples gathered from different continents
in the world including its layers and its
correlation with the fossils. This helps in
relating the sequence of events in the Earth’s
history which is clearly presented in the
geologic time scale.
READING ACTIVITY:
The importance of geologic time scale is, it
serves as a standard timeline used to
describe the age of rocks, fossils, and the
events that formed them. It is a device which
is of great help to the science of geology and
it is owed to the explorations and studies
recorded by geologists.
READING ACTIVITY:
VOCABULARY
1. Geologist
2. Geologic time scale
3. correlation
4. sequence
5. Fossils
Fossil - is a preserved remains or traces of
plants, animals, and other organisms from
the past. It provides evidence of the past
events in Earth’s geological history.
Fossil record – this are the history of life as
documented by all fossils which preserved in
sedimentary rock strata
Index fossils – serves as a guide or indicator
of certain geologic periods. This are used to
correlate the age of the rock strata. If two
different rocks in different areas on the earth
contain the same index fossils, then probably
the strata have the same age
GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE
a systematic and chronological organization
of time related to the history of the Earth
and universe used by geologists,
paleontologists and other scientists to
describe the timing and relationship
between events that occurred during the
long history of the Earth. It depicts the
timing and relationships between events
that have occurred during the history of the
Earth (and the universe).
 GEOLOGIC TIME
General reference to long time span that predates
human records. They have divided the 4.6 billion years
of Earth’s rich history into different time spans to
conveniently indicate the four major events
geologically or paleontologically. This time spans
includes:
➢ Age (millions of years)
➢ Epoch (tens of millions of years)
➢ Period (tens of millions of years)
➢ Era (several hundred million years)
➢ Eon (half a billion years or more)
Stromatolites increased in abundance throughout the Archean, but began to decline
during the Proterozoic. They are not common today, but they are doing well in Shark
Bay, Australia .
The Precambrian Era is Earth's first era of time. It began with the
creation of the Earth around 4.6 billion years ago and lasted until
570 million years ago. The Precambrian saw many drastic
changes during this time. The five major events of the Precambrian
are:
1. The formation of the Sun and light.
2. The creation of the Earth.
3. The creation of the atmosphere through volcanic out-gassing.
4. The creation of the oceans. After rainfall, the Earth's surface
was cooled down and the rainwater collected into low areas
which formed oceans and seas. The ocean became stable
around 1 bya when no more salt from rocks could be dissolved
into the water.
5. The creation of life.
 During the Precambrian, continents began to form and
grow, driven by a mechanism similar to what is now
called plate tectonics. Also during this time, the oceans
and the atmosphere started forming from the gases
escaping the extremely hot, semiliquid interior of the
planet.
Life in the form of primitive bacteria may have originated
as early as four billion years ago, perhaps at hot springs
on the sea floor.
 Mesozoic Era
(meaning "middle life") which lasted from
248 million years ago until 66 million years
ago. The Mesozoic Era is often called the
"age of reptiles." It is during the Mesozoic

Era that mammals, birds, and flowering

plants first evolved. It is also the era in
which the ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs,
pterosaurs, and most importantly for us,
the dinosaurs lived! Even though
mammals first appeared early in the
Mesozoic, they didn't evolve much beyond
small rat-like creatures. In particular, there
were no bears, elephants, monkeys, and
especially NO PEOPLE during the Mesozoic
Era.
Triassic Period
In many ways, the Triassic was a time of
transition.
It was at this time that the world-continent of
Pangaea existed, altering global climate and
ocean circulation.
The Triassic also follows the largest extinction
event in the history of life, and so is a time when
the survivors of that event spread and
recolonized.
Jurassic Period • The period’s most distinguishing
characteristic was the dominance of
dinosaurs and other reptiles.
Cretaceous Period
The Cretaceous is usually noted for being the last
portion of the "Age of Dinosaurs", but that does
not mean that new kinds of dinosaurs did not
appear then.
It is during the Cretaceous that the first
ceratopsian and pachycepalosaurid dinosaurs
appeared. Also during this time, we find the first
fossils of many insect groups, modern mammal
and bird groups, and the first flowering plants.
 •The Cenozoic Era is divided into two
periods: the Tertiary which lasted from
66 million years ago to 2 million years
ago, and the Quaternary.

•During these epochs, most of the

mammals with which we are familiar
evolved including whales, bats, monkeys,
and humans. Some other strange
mammals evolved and became extinct
during these times, including the saber
toothed tiger Smilodon, the rhinoceros-
like Teleoceras,
Tertiary Climate: A Cooling Trend From Tropics
To Ice Age

The beginning of the Tertiary Period was very

warm and moist compared to today’s climate.
Much of the earth was tropical or sub-tropical.
Palm trees grew as far north as Greenland. By
the middle of the tertiary, during the Oligocene
Epoch, the climate began to cool. This cooling
trend continued and by the Pliocene Epoch at
the end of the Tertiary Period, an ice age had
begun.
The Rise of The Mammals
The extinction event at the close of the
Cretaceous Period wiped out the dinosaurs, large
reptiles, and many other species. This left room
for new animals to develop. The mammals
became the dominant animals. In fact, the
Cenozoic Era is often called the Age of
Mammals. Most of the main groups of mammals
were present by the Eocene Epoch. With the
dinosaurs and other large reptiles gone
mammals grew in size, numbers and diversity.
They filled ecological niches in the sea on land
and in the air.
Quaternary Period
the Quaternary Period began with an ice age about 1.8
million years ago. It is often called the Age of Humans.
It continues up to the present time and is the period
that we live in. The Quaternary Period is divided into
two epochs :

The Pleistocene Epoch - 1.8 million to 11,000 years ago

The Holocene Epoch - 11,000 years ago to present
The Climate of The Quaternary Period
Generally temperatures were cooler everywhere on earth during
this time. But the climate of the Pleistocene did not stay the same
throughout the entire Pleistocene. The polar ice advanced and
retreated. The earth warmed and cooled. Scientists have
cataloged over 60 cycles of glacial expansion and contraction
during the Pleistocene.

Glaciers Lower Sea Levels

When the polar ice advances, huge amounts of water become
locked up in the ice. This causes sea levels to drop. Land once
covered by water is left high and dry. During a time of advancing
glaciers, the Bering land bridge revealed itself between Alaska
and Siberia. This happened many times during the Quaternary
Period.
The Rise of Humans
For us, the most important development of the
Quaternary Period is the development of the
hominids: Humans. From the first primates in
the Tertiary Period to modern man, the hominid
species has evolved amazing abilities. The
earliest hominid fossils found so far date from
the late Tertiary Period. They were found in
Africa. As the Pleistocene Epoch continued,
hominids spread throughout the world. Their
larger brains allowed a level of thought and
feeling that was, and is, unique among the
animals. We think and solve. We change and
control. The future of our planet will be greatly
affected by the Age of Humans.