Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science, Third Edition, Six Volume Set brings together the multidisciplinary expertise needed to understand the history of humans, life, environmental, and climate change to understand what we may expect over the coming decades. Since publication of the previous edition, our understanding of many topics has been revolutionized by new discoveries and new techniques. The development of ancient DNA studies, for example, has revolutionized our thinking about the origins, dispersal, and population dynamics of our ancestors. Every new aDNA analysis from ancient human remains causes the story to become more complex.

We are the sole survivors of the genus Homo, yet we harbor genetic fragments from other closely related but long-extinct lineages. The Quaternary is uniquely situated as a laboratory in which to study the shaping of the modern world, including biotic responses to large-scale environmental change. This new edition of this book is the most comprehensive account of state-of-the-art research in this field.

• Revised and expanded, this new edition brings the science up-to-date by featuring advances in all the multi-disciplinary aspects of Quaternary science
• Focuses new content on numerical modeling for paleoclimate and ice-sheet reconstructions, which have greatly advanced since publication of the Second Edition
• Covers ancient DNA, which has revolutionized our knowledge of human origins and dispersals, plant and animal population genetics, and more
• Includes short, structured chapters, which help readers finding the information they need and save time